Startups Decoded

Every line on your cap table is a promise. Most founders don’t know what they’ve signed.Andy Walsh sat down with Joris Delanoue, founder of Fairmint, to unpack why equity, the core of startup ownership, is still managed through systems built for a different era, and why that matters more now than ever.The central tension: companies are staying private longer, secondary markets are growing fast, and the infrastructure holding it all together is, in many cases, still a spreadsheet.Joris has spent two decades on both sides of this, as a founder frustrated by the cost and complexity of bringing people onto his cap table, and as an angel investor watching his capital sit trapped in paper with no clear path to liquidity. That frustration became Fairmint.This episode goes deep on what a cap table actually is, what it costs when it’s mismanaged, and what programmable equity infrastructure looks like when it’s built correctly from day one.Topics covered:Why cap tables are still broken The standardization movement that changed early fundraisingHow blockchain turns equity into a programmable assetWhy liquidity is infrastructure, not an exit eventListen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubePresented by Deel: If you’re at the stage of making your first or fiftieth hire, and doing it across borders, Deel is worth knowing about. They’re supporting Startups Decoded for good reason. LEARN MORE.Subscribe nowJoris DelanoueFounder and operator with over two decades of experience building and scaling companies across tech and finance. Co-founder and CEO of Fairmint, a platform rethinking how companies raise capital and manage equity, using software and blockchain to modernize the cap table from incorporation to IPO. Andy Walsh2× exited founder, advisor, board member, and host of Startups Decoded (500,000 downloads + Top 2% globally).Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInWeb: startupsdecoded.comSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) The Studio ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, joins Startups Decoded to discuss his new book Incorruptible and why many successful companies slowly drift away from their founding ideals.Andy Walsh sat down with Eric to explore the forces that reshape organizations as they scale — from governance and incentives to leadership dynamics and investor pressure.Drawing on examples from companies like Costco and FedMart, Eric explains how culture, trust, and long-term thinking are often eroded by systems designed for short-term outcomes.This episode examines why success can quietly corrupt company purpose — and what founders must do to build organizations that remain principled as they grow.Presented by Deel: If you're making your first or fiftieth hire — and doing it across borders — Deel is worth knowing. They're supporting Startups Decoded this season for good reason. LEARN MORE.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeWhat We Cover• The legacy and influence of The Lean Startup • Why companies drift away from their founding purpose • The hidden forces that shape corporate culture • The founder-to-CEO transition and shifting power dynamics • Governance, incentives, and long-term decision making • Lessons from Costco and the collapse of FedMart • How founders can design companies that stay mission-drivenGet Incorruptible: Order hereEric RiesEric Ries is the author of The Lean Startup, one of the most influential books in modern entrepreneurship. His work has shaped how startups and large companies approach innovation, product development, and experimentation. Andy Walsh2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (500,000 downloads + Top 2% globally).Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInWeb: startupsdecoded.com Socials: TikTok || Instagram || XMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) The Studio​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code "Decoded" for 25% off your first booking.

We’re more connected than ever. More lonely than ever. Along the way, something broke.Michelle Parsons left ed-tech to build Lora — a platform using astrology as a framework for genuine human connection.The twist? The tech isn’t the point. The vulnerability is.Andy Walsh sat down with Michelle Parsons, co-founder of Lora, to unpack one of the most uncomfortable truths in tech: we built tools for connection and ended up more isolated.Michelle is a product leader (Kayak, Netflix, Spotify) who spent years watching personalization shape content discovery — and started asking why we weren’t applying that thinking to how people find each other. Lora is her answer.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe nowPresented by Deel: If you’re at the stage of making your first or second hire — and doing it across borders — Deel is worth knowing about. They’re supporting Startups Decoded this season for good reason. → LEARN MORE ←What We Cover:Why social media broke the promise of connection — and why it’s structuralAstrology as an onboarding framework for vulnerability (yes, really)The difference between shallow engagement and meaningful relationshipHow Lora uses personalization to facilitate depth, not just retentionWhat community impact looks like when you measure connection, not clicksMichelle ParsonsA product leader who’s built and scaled at Kayak, Spotify, Netflix, and Hinge — where she served as CPO and tripled both the user base and revenue. Most recently, she co-founded Lex, a queer-first social platform named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies. Now she’s building Lora, a platform for deeper, more authentic human connection.Andy Walsh2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (500,000+ downloads + Top 2% globally).Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInWeb: startupsdecoded.comSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XThe Studio ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.Music Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) 

Everyone told Milly her résumé didn’t make sense. She turned that confusion into a global community of 800+ people who felt exactly the same. Turns out, being hard to define is your biggest competitive advantage.Andy Walsh sat down with Milly, founder of Generalist World — a community of 800+ operators, founders, and career-builders who’ve stopped apologising for doing too many things well.This one’s for anyone who’s ever struggled to answer “so, what do you do?” without a paragraph-long explanation.Milly grew up milking cows on a farm in New Zealand. She was supposed to become a teacher. Instead, she became a tour guide, a wine tour co-founder, a hostel co-owner, a writer for Tourism Japan, a film producer in Canada, and the Director of Miscellaneous at a tech company — before eventually landing on a remote island in Scotland, wondering why she felt like she didn’t fit anywhere.That feeling became a LinkedIn post. That post became a community. That community now spans 800 members, 150,000 social followers, and 60,000 email subscribers — built entirely without a cent of paid marketing.The twist? She started with 300 LinkedIn connections and absolutely no plan.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeWhat We Cover:Why generalism is a return, not a trendThe “top 10% in three things” framework for positioning yourselfHow Milly built Generalist World from a LinkedIn postWhy resumes are becoming obsolete — and what replaces themThe real reason communities are about to have their momentWhy every founder must be willing to sell (yes, even you)How AI is accelerating the case for breadth over depthMilly TamatiMilly is a New Zealand-born founder and community builder behind Generalist World, a global network for builders, operators, and curious career generalists. After 15 years as both an early employee and founder across multiple startups, she now helps 100,000+ people design unconventional, interesting careers beyond traditional paths.Andy Walsh2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (500,000 downloads + Top 2% globally).Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInWeb: startupsdecoded.comSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) The Studio ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

Most founders try to build a company.Sophie de Haën built one by accident.And she did it while she was still in college.Andy Walsh sat down with Sophie de Haën, founder of SDH Paints, to unpack one of the most unconventional founder journeys we’ve seen on Startups Decoded.Sophie didn’t start with a startup idea, a pitch deck, or a plan to raise money. She started painting during COVID and sharing her work online. What began as a creative outlet quickly attracted attention. As her audience grew, people started asking to buy the art.That simple feedback loop turned into SDH Paints — a fast-growing art-led brand with nearly 300,000 followers and six-figure annual revenue, all built while Sophie was still a college student.But the real story isn’t just how the company started.It’s how she chose to grow it.Instead of chasing scale and momentum, Sophie made the unusual decision to slow the business down during her final year of college. After years of constant output, she stepped back to reconnect with her creativity and figure out what she actually wanted the next chapter to look like.In this conversation, Andy and Sophie explore a different path into entrepreneurship, one where audience comes before product, community becomes the feedback loop, and the founder is evolving just as fast as the business.This episode offers a glimpse into how the next generation of founders are emerging, often without meaning to.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe nowWhat We CoverBuilding an audience before building a productTurning creativity into a business organicallyThe creator-to-founder pathwaySocial media as a real-time product feedback loopThe tension between art, commerce, and identityWhy Sophie paused growth while the brand was workingHow authenticity builds stronger communities than strategyAndy Walsh2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (Top 2% globally).https://www.linkedin.com/in/anwalsh/Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) The Studio https://28thandpark.podyx.com/​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

AI has already changed how we create, search, and automate. The next step is prediction.In this episode, Vanja Josifovski joins Andy Walsh to explore how enterprises can use their own private data to forecast future outcomes, automate decisions, and move from analysis to action. As CEO and Co-Founder of Kumo, Vanja is building predictive intelligence systems that sit on top of enterprise data and help companies improve revenue, reduce fraud, and make faster, better decisions.This conversation explores how predictive AI is evolving, why trust remains the biggest barrier to adoption, and what happens when machines become better than humans at making mid-level operational decisions. We also get into the role of explainability, the future of work, and how AI will increasingly become natural language, instantaneous, and predictive.Listen:Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe nowIn This Episode• Why predictive intelligence is the next phase of AI• How Kumo uses enterprise data to forecast future outcomes• Where trust breaks down in AI adoption• Why most business decisions will eventually be automated• How explainability and human oversight shape adoptionChapters00:00 The Future of AI and Predictive Intelligence04:12 Vanja’s Journey in Tech and AI Evolution09:06 Trust and Acceptance in AI Technology12:41 The Role of Predictive Intelligence in Business18:10 Kumo’s Predictive Intelligence Model24:37 Feedback Loops and Continuous Improvement30:37 The Future of Decision-Making with AI35:10 The Impact of AI on Human Behavior and SocietyVanja JosifovskiCEO and Co-Founder of Kumo, a predictive AI platform that brings transformer and foundation model technology to enterprise tabular and relational data. Before Kumo, Vanja held senior leadership roles across major technology companies including Google, Yahoo, Airbnb, and Pinterest, with a long career focused on helping organizations use data to better serve customers, improve decisions, and scale intelligently.Andy Walsh2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (Top 2% globally).Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) The Studio​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

The fundraising hangover is real.Capital returned in 2025, but investors are now far more selective. Traction, revenue clarity, and capital efficiency matter more than vision decks.In this episode, Roei Samuel joins Andy Walsh to share how he raised $23M+ without giving up board seats, and why that decision shaped Connectd’s growth and governance. We unpack how founders retain leverage in a tighter market, where progress must be measurable and every dollar justified.This conversation explores fundraising as a system, covering negotiation, investor alignment, non-dilutive capital, and the growing role of fractional talent.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeIn This Episode• Why fundraising in 2026 rewards discipline• Raising $23M+ without board dilution• Where founders lose leverage in negotiations• Fractional talent and capital efficiency• Communicating traction investors trustRoei Samuel Founder & CEO of Connectd, a platform connecting startups with investors, directors, and expert talent. After exiting RealSport, Roei launched Connectd in 2019. The platform now supports 90+ fractional hires per month, has driven 4× ARR growth for three consecutive years, and has raised $14M+.Andy Walsh2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (500k downloads).Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.com Music Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) https://phondupe.bandcamp.com/album/air-conditioning-vol-2The Studio ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code "Decoded" for 25% off your first booking.

Alisa Cohn has spent decades coaching CEOs through the moments that define their leadership: rapid growth, board pressure, and the quiet isolation of the role.Named the #1 Startup Coach in the World by Thinkers50, Alisa has advised leaders at Venmo, Etsy, and Pfizer. In this episode, we explore why reactive management no longer works and how scaling CEOs must move from firefighting to proactive “North Star” planning as complexity increases.This is a grounded, practical conversation about CEO craft, how to lead with intention when the stakes are high, and the answers aren’t obvious.Subscribe nowIn This Conversation, We CoverThe Founder-to-Leader Shift: Moving from “doer” to organizational leader.North Star Planning: What it actually means for early-stage CEOs.The Reactive Trap: Breaking the cycle of constant crisis management.Executive Presence: Building influence and credibility as the company grows.Board Dynamics: Navigating power shifts and high-stakes relationships.Resilience: Why self-awareness is a core leadership skill, not a soft skill.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Startup Leadership02:48 The Evolution of a CEO08:54 The Journey from Founder to CEO11:49 Delegation and the Pain of Growth18:13 Building a Scalable Culture24:03 The Importance of Storytelling30:09 Empowering Employees and Fostering Innovation36:00 Key Takeaways from ‘From Startup to Grownup.’Alisa CohnAlisa is a globally recognized CEO coach and author of From Startup to Grownup. Based in New York, she advises founders and Fortune 500 executives at companies like IBM, Dell, and The New York Times. A frequent contributor to HBR and Forbes, Alisa is also an angel investor and former startup CFO.Who Should ListenFirst-time CEOs and founders navigating leadership transitions.Leaders feeling stuck in reactive mode.Operators stepping into executive roles.Anyone serious about becoming a more intentional, effective CEO.Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)The Studio ​Filmed on location at 28th&Park. A content & production studio for New York’s visionary Builders, Investors, Artists, Musicians, & Creators to amplify their voice & share bold stories. Use the code “Decoded” for 25% off your first booking.

In this episode, Andy Walsh sits with Dr. Denise Bronner, a scientist-turned-strategist who has spent 15 years bridging the gap between the lab bench and the boardroom. As the founder of Empactful Ventures, Denise deconstructs the high-stakes reality of due diligence, transforming it from a “pop quiz” into a strategic mirror for operational maturity.Subscribe nowThe ConversationAndy and Denise dive into the “hard edge” where complex science meets venture capital. They discuss why founders must stop hiding from their data and start using it to build a narrative that survives the scrutiny of Seed through Series A rounds. From the “Pac-Man effect” of 2026 market consolidation to the emotional toll of M&A “lock-ins,” this is a raw look at what happens when the lights come on in the data room.Chapters00:00 Lab to Leadership: The Scientist’s Journey02:43 Bridging Science and Business08:23 Data Storytelling: Science Meets Strategy14:21 Understanding Your Investor Audience17:10 The Reality of Due Diligence22:48 Mergers & Acquisitions: Survival of the Transparent28:23 The Founder’s Toll: Empathy in the Exit40:10 The Pac-Man Effect: 2026 Market Trends“Due diligence isn’t a pop quiz—it’s a mirror. If you organize your truth, pressure helps you; it doesn’t hurt you.” — Denise N. Bronner, Ph.D.Who Should Listen:Founders in regulated spaces (Healthtech/Biotech), Ops leads tasked with data rooms, and investors refining their DD checklists.Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)

Casey Woo has spent over two decades inside the engine room of real companies, scaling startups as a 6x CFO and 2x COO across SaaS, marketplaces, hardware, eCommerce, and beyond.After walking away from a successful career in public markets, Casey chose the harder path: joining early-stage startups, eating glass, and learning how companies actually get built under pressure. Along the way, he founded the Operators Guild, a global community of 1,200+ elite builders, and FOG Ventures, an operator-led investment platform backing the modern operator and GTM stack.In this conversation, we unpack why generalist operators are becoming the new frontier for founders and investors. We talk about business as both physics and art, why judgment beats specialization early, what separates great operators from average ones, and why VCs increasingly back operator-led companies and platforms.This is an operator-first conversation about craft, execution, and building companies that actually work, without startup theater.Subscribe nowChapters00:02 Introduction to Operators and Generalists01:13 Casey Wu’s Journey from Wall Street to Startups03:22 The Cultural Shift: From Banking to Building05:34 The Role of Operators in Startups09:04 The Birth of the Operators Guild12:24 Defining the Roles: Founder vs. Operator15:31 The Evolution of the Operator Role16:30 The Impact of Technology on Operators22:34 Advice for Aspiring Operators22:42 The Importance of Community in Business24:23 Learning Through Experience25:40 Fundamentals of Business Success27:33 The Role of Human Relationships28:45 The Operators Guild and Knowledge Sharing34:31 Introducing Fog Ventures40:44 Customer Feedback and Product DevelopmentGuest BioCasey Woo is the Founder of the Operators Guild and General Partner at FOG Ventures, a leading operator-led investing platform.A former public markets investor, Casey has spent over 20 years operating inside high-growth companies as a 6x CFO and 2x COO, guiding startups from early-stage through hypergrowth, multiple funding rounds, and pre-IPO. His experience spans software, hardware, marketplaces, eCommerce, supply chain, real estate, and professional communities.Through the Operators Guild, Casey built a global network of more than 1,200 elite operators, the people responsible for scaling some of the fastest-growing companies in tech. Building on that foundation, he launched FOG Ventures, investing alongside operators in the modern operator and GTM software stack.email: casey@operators-guild.comAccess All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)

Mike Ma doesn’t invest in decks. He invests in people.As Managing Partner and Head Coach at Sidecut Ventures, Mike works with what he calls “coachable superheroes”, early-stage, mission-driven founders tackling real problems in economic mobility, healthcare, climate, and education.In this conversation, we unpack what it actually means to be coachable as a founder, why most advice fails in practice, and how real progress happens when coaching, capital, and execution collide. Mike shares lessons from the trenches — blending Fortune 500 experience with venture-backed CXO roles, and explains why the best founders don’t just seek answers, they build judgement.We also explore Sidecut’s hands-on approach to venture building, the parallels between adaptive sports coaching and startup leadership, and why helping founders unlock potential often means meeting them exactly where they are, not where the pitch says they should be.This episode is for founders who want fewer platitudes, better questions, and support that actually shows up.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Impact Investing02:42 The Thesis of Sidecut Ventures04:59 Understanding Impact and Returns07:49 The Case for Climate Investments10:41 The Duality of Capitalism13:06 The Role of Ethics in Business15:47 The Importance of Mission-Driven Founders18:33 Evaluating Founders Beyond the Surface23:54 The Foxhole: Partnering with Founders27:19 The Impact of Investment Models32:01 The Reality of Foundership36:50 Understanding the Founder’s Journey39:43 Evaluating Impact and Market RisksMike Ma Managing Partner and Head Coach at Sidecut Ventures, where he invests in and coaches early-stage, mission-driven founders working on some of society’s hardest problems.He brings a rare blend of Fortune 500 experience (Bank of America, Vanguard) and venture-backed CXO leadership(including Betterment and Own Up), rolling up his sleeves across product, strategy, and fundraising. Mike believes the best venture outcomes are built through proximity, trust, and real coaching, not performative advice.Sidecut Ventures: Pitch: https://www.sidecut.vc/pitch-usLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelwma/Presented by Morrison Foerster - mofo.comAccess All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.comMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) 

Niluka Kavanagh left Big 4 consulting with a simple question: Can I work for myself, and can I do it from anywhere?That question turned into an experiment, then a business, then ImagineThat, a global club for first-time founders who are trying to build something without losing themselves in the process.We talk about the unsexy realities people don’t plan for: uncertainty, isolation, confidence dips, and the weird moment where you realise “being your own boss” can still mean being owned by customers. Niluka shares the framework she uses with founders to go from “I’ve got skills” to “I’ve got a business,” why you should design your life before you design your model, and why your personal brand is the only asset that survives pivots.This is a conversation for anyone in corporate with a pull toward independence, and anyone early-stage who wants fewer vibes and more clarity.Subscribe nowChapters00:00 The Journey of Transitioning from Corporate to Entrepreneurship03:08 Finding Purpose and Vision in Business05:53 Understanding the Risks and Rewards of Entrepreneurship08:44 Building a Support Network for Founders11:35 The Importance of Market Validation14:25 Creating a Founder Brand and Authentic Storytelling22:27 Building Your Founder Brand25:41 The Importance of Values in Branding29:47 The Power of Storytelling in Personal Branding34:07 Recognizing Your Achievements as a Founder38:31 The Role of Community in Entrepreneurship43:20 Creating a Supportive Environment for FoundersNiluka Kavanagh A founder, executive coach, keynote speaker, and creator focused on the future of work.She is the Founder of ImagineThat, the global club for new founders, and the creator of The Modern CEO, a leadership program helping companies evolve into next-generation workplaces.Previously, she worked as a consultant at KPMG with clients like Mastercard, Tesco, and London Stock Exchange, co-founded KPMG FutureThinkers, and led communications for KPMG SheCan.Niluka has spoken at leading universities, including Oxford, Trinity College Dublin, and Edinburgh University, and her work has been featured in The World Financial Review and Cambridge University Press.Who Should ListenNew founders transitioning out of corporate rolesExecutives leading younger or hybrid teamsOperators building modern leadership culturesAnyone curious about how careers, ambition, and identity are reshaping entrepreneurshipMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.com

Startup investing used to be gated, exclusive networks, complex diligence, and full-time fund managers. But what if anyone could build a startup portfolio the same way they’d shop online?In this episode, Cheryl Kellond, serial founder and CEO of Play Money, shares how her platform is democratizing early-stage investing by pairing curated deals from new fund managers with an experience that feels more like shopping than finance. We dive into her journey from launching Bia Sport and Apostrophe (acquired by Centivo) to building Play Money, the new “fantasy league” for startup investing.Expect a candid lesson on why making startup capital more inclusive can reshape who gets funded and who gets to build wealth.Subscribe nowChapters00:00 Introduction to Play Money and Its Mission04:37 The Challenges of Accessing Capital11:21 The Evolution of Early Stage Investing16:59 Understanding the Angel Investment Landscape22:30 The Role of Education in Angel Investing28:20 The Founder Experience on Play Money33:49 Building Trust and Validation in Startups39:27 The Future Vision for Play MoneyCheryl KellondFounder & CEO of Play Money, is a concept-to-launch expert who has driven $750M+ in revenue from healthtech, SaaS, hardware, and media products. She previously founded Apostrophe (Techstars ’17, acquired by Centivo) and Bia Sport (Lemnos ’12), and has launched major products at Adobe, Yahoo, and E*TRADE. Voted Denver’s Most Admired CEO and a 40 Over 40 honoree, she’s passionate about disrupting legacy industries and building founder-friendly ecosystems.Who Should ListenAspiring angel investors who want a smarter, accessible entry pointFounders curious about new funding pathwaysEmerging fund managers building their first LP baseAnyone interested in wealth-building through startups without “full-time VC” complexityMusic Credit“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)Access All Areas.Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTubeSubscribe: SubstackCommunity & Events: Founders CircleConnect: LinkedInSocials: TikTok || Instagram || XWeb: startupsdecoded.com