Margin For Error: The Story of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Platform Builders

Ahmed Saad has worn many hats: founder, ecosystem builder, educator—and program manager at Oxford's Saïd Business School, where he helps idea-stage ventures become investment-ready startups. But before all that? He had a closet full of unsold Egyptian cotton t-shirts and a crash course in startup failure.

In this episode, Ahmed shares his journey from launching a fashion brand in Egypt to shaping one of the UK’s most influential...

In this episode, Maria Gonzalez-Blanch, Managing Partner at Crescent Ridge VC, unpacks a refreshingly honest take on building great companies without burning through capital. With a background spanning engineering, private equity, and startups, Maria brings a multidimensional lens to early-stage investing across a set of core pillars.

This conversation also tackles AI as a founder equalizer, the power of self-awareness in founder-in...

Stephen Hargett’s path into entrepreneurship wasn’t planned—it was earned through persistence, hustle, and a relentless openness to saying yes to what came next.

In this episode, Stephen shares his deeply personal and refreshingly candid journey to founding wrkspace, a "workspace-as-a-service" platform offering fully managed space solutions for teams, events, and collaborators. But before co-founding wrkspace, Stephen was figuring t...

Alan Rich has built and exited not one, not two—but three successful software ventures, including his latest startup, Y Meadows. In this episode, he shares a masterclass in long-haul entrepreneurship and what it takes to keep building, even when you've already crossed the finish line—twice.

Alan’s journey begins with founding Elite Information Group alongside his father, building financial systems for law firms before scaling it glo...

Lily Elsner, co-founder of Jack Fertility, shares how she’s helping reshape male reproductive healthcare—starting with the world’s first postal sperm testing kit.

In this episode, Lily shares the origin story behind Jack Fertility, a startup pioneering the world’s first full semen analysis through the mail. Born out of a personal conversation during the pandemic and informed by both femtech experience and rural agricultural insights...

Bilal Kaiser, founder and principal at Agency Guacamole, joins to share the journey of building a standout agency in a crowded industry—and why agility, creativity, and authenticity are key ingredients to long-term success.

Starting from a solo venture to a 20-person agency serving national beauty and lifestyle brands, Bilal walks through the evolution of Agency Guacamole, what the name really means, and how he’s stayed ahead of shi...

Elianne Rodriguez, Executive Director of LEEAF (Los Angeles Economic Equity Accelerator & Fellowship), shares how a lifelong connection to small business—and a chance bus ride into downtown LA—sparked her mission to build more inclusive, community-rooted startup ecosystems.

From selling Jordans and working multiple jobs, to launching a career in tech incubation and economic empowerment, Elianne’s story is a testament to resource...

Nassir Criss of Sixty8 Capital joins us to share how defying the traditional VC path—and logging time in the trenches as a startup operator—made him a sharper, more founder-focused investor.

Before stepping into venture, Nassir had already helped build 15+ startups by age 22. That operational depth gives him a rare edge in early-stage investing: a real-world understanding of what it takes to bring ideas to life. This conversation di...

In this episode, we talk with Sonya Petcavich, founder of Meowtel, to unpack how a deeply personal loss led to building the leading cat-sitting marketplace in the U.S.

Sonya shares how her childhood cat, Miss Lily, inspired the founding of Meowtel—a platform born out of grief, guilt, and a bold desire to create a better life for cats everywhere. They dive into how Sonya bootstrapped the company, raised minimal VC funding, and still ...