In this episode of Time, Fuel, and Money, Deborah, Karim, and Vassili connect metabolic fuel to startup finance: why caffeine jitters feel like a sugar crash, and why “mega rounds” can mimic the same boom-and-bust in company building.
We start with Vassili’s energy lens (ketones, mitochondria, and why caffeine can push the body to burn through glucose) and use it as a metaphor for capital: clean vs. dirty fuel, steady state vs. spikes, and how founders mistake dopamine hits for durable energy. From there, we interrogate the cookie-cutter Series A ask, the herd chase for “lead investors,” and the gap between scientifically correct narratives and what actually works in the wild. Karim unpacks how some teams burn $20M on rodents and slides yet arrive at a $50–$300M ask with no true milestones—while scrappier founders build real proof and let acquirers do the talking. Deborah presses on market appetite, climate awareness, and how buyer sophistication is forcing right-sized raises and clearer maps to value.
🧠 Topics we explore
- Caffeine jitters ≈ runway jitters: choosing steady fuel over spikes
- The “standard” Series A (and when it’s fiction)
- Lead-investor theater and the copy-paste deck
- Scientifically correct vs. actually true solutions
- Biomimicry & resilience as design principles
- Market awareness, milestone discipline, and M&A signals
- When a mega round makes sense—and when it’s pure delusion
If you’re raising or investing, this is a calibration tool — not a pep talk.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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