Fund/Build/Scale

Fund/Build/Scale

Walter Thompson

After working for years in early-stage startups and as a journalist, here are three hard truths I’ve learned:

1. Success in Silicon Valley hinges on connections, hard work and luck.
2. Startups often fail because founders lack fundamental business knowledge.
3. Real, actionable advice comes from those who’ve actually done it.

There’s no such thing as “founder DNA.” If you’re willing to take on risk and invest years of your life in something that has maybe a 10% chance of paying off — less if you’re a woman or person of color — you can be a startup founder.

Here’s why I founded Fund/Build/Scale:

1. To help founders make fewer mistakes.
2. To share successful strategies that can accelerate your go-to-market journey.
3. To inspire more people to see themselves as potential founders. There’s a lot of overlooked talent out there, and we are missing out.

This podcast is for anyone who’s interested in learning the basic skills required to launch a startup, secure initial funding and transform an idea into a sustainable business.

I’m talking to guests about everything: finding a co-founder, conducting customer discovery, recruiting early employees, developing a PLG strategy, fundraising when you’re outside a major tech hub — all of it.

Interested? Subscribe to Fund/Build/Scale on all major platforms and follow the podcast on LinkedIn or Substack to get articles, excerpts, transcripts and more.

Where can you listen?

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Episodes

Questions & Answers

How many episodes are there of Fund/Build/Scale?

There are 46 episodes avaiable of Fund/Build/Scale.

What is Fund/Build/Scale about?

We have categorized Fund/Build/Scale as:

  • Technology
  • News
  • Tech News

Where can you listen to Fund/Build/Scale?

Fund/Build/Scale is available, among others places, on:

  • Spotify
  • Apple Podcasts
  • Podtail
  • Google Podcasts

When did Fund/Build/Scale start?

The first episode of Fund/Build/Scale that we have available was released 3 December 2023.

Who creates the podcast Fund/Build/Scale?

Fund/Build/Scale is produced and created by Walter Thompson.