Episode Stack: https://stackl.ist/4qaixcK
Summary
In this episode I sit down with Vlad Cazacu, Founder and CEO of Flowlie, to talk about the long, winding path that led him from an immigrant kid obsessed with science magazines to building one of the most thoughtful fundraising tools I’ve used as a founder.
We go way back. Before Flowlie was helping founders raise hundreds of millions of dollars, Vlad was running a textbook startup in college, turning down an acquisition offer because it did not feel big enough at the time. That early mix of curiosity, naivety, and ambition shows up again and again in his story.
Vlad spent years on the investing side, working in venture capital and family offices, seeing thousands of deals and learning how capital actually moves. Flowlie did not start as a founder product at all. It began as an internal tool for investors, then pivoted after founders started asking a simple question: “Are we even a good fit for these investors?” We talk about the shoebox office in Miami, the moment Stripe lit up with their first paid users, why fundraising is mostly unnecessary overhead, and how AI should remove friction instead of adding noise. This is a true zero-to-something story, told while still very much in motion.
Key moments we cover:
Key takeaways:
Chapters
00:00 The Naivety of Startup Beginnings
03:03 The Journey to Entrepreneurship
06:07 The Birth of Barter Out
09:01 The Influence of Family and Curiosity
12:04 Lessons from Early Ventures
14:55 Transitioning to Venture Capital
17:58 Building Flowlie: The Next Chapter
22:57 The Pivot to Founders' Needs
30:00 Building the Team and Culture
37:05 Funding Journey and Growth
38:13 Future Vision and AI Integration
