Shows
Founder ModeThe Healthcare Innovation Bottleneck with Rebecca ShufeldtEPISODE 21Hosts Kevin Henrikson and Jason Shafton go beyond the headlines to unpack the real bottlenecks that stall healthcare—and how to fix them—with consultant and operator Rebecca Shufeldt, founder of Ignite Healthcare Solutions. Drawing on her path from urgent care ops to EHR/revenue cycle leadership, Rebecca explains why go‑live is “day zero,” how her evolving “Silver Bullet” project plan keeps Athenahealth implementations aligned to payer/CMS changes, and where AI—voice intake, scheduling, eligibility, authorizations and referrals—removes administrative drag, reduces denials, and lifts patient and clinician satisfaction. The group digs into tailoring EHRs beyond “turnk...
2025-08-2127 min
Founder ModeThe Creator CEO with Ahad KhanEPISODE 20In this episode of Founder Mode, Kevin and Jason sit down with Ahad Khan, CEO of Kajabi, to unpack what it really means to be a “creator CEO” in 2025. From shifting creators’ mindsets beyond virality toward sustainable, owner-operated businesses, to finding content market fit before building products, Ahad shares actionable strategies for monetization, pricing, and using AI without losing the human touch. He also opens up about leading a global team as a post-founder CEO, honoring Kajabi’s customer-obsessed roots while implementing his own leadership cadence, and why the future belongs to entrepreneurial creators who build brands t...
2025-08-1433 min
Founder ModeThe Founder’s Unfair Advantage with Chris WinfieldEPISODE 19Visibility isn't a vibe—it's a system. In this episode, Jason and Kevin sit down with Chris Winfield, creator, connector, and coach, to break down how founders can build an unfair advantage in an AI-saturated world. Chris shares his 80/20 rule for AI usage, why content strategy is non-negotiable in 2025, and how personal connection still beats automation. Learn how to become the go-to expert in your niche, simplify your message like Steve Jobs, and avoid falling into the “Slopbot” trap of over-AI'd content.CHAPTERS00:00 – The 80/20 Rule for Using AI06:26...
2025-08-0724 min
Founder ModePerfect Days With Your Ride-Or-DiesEPISODE 18In this candid, fast-paced solo episode, Jason and Kevin unpack the systems behind their ideal weeks, why founders should prioritize health like a product launch, and how to build a ride-or-die team that spans multiple startups. From hiding jets from repo men to wearing smart glasses on the beach, they share war stories, personal rituals, and the mindset that separates cautious operators from calculated risk-takers.CHAPTERS00:00 – The Casino Story That Saved FedEx01:04 – Building Your Perfect Week05:14 – Big Company Constraints Are (Mostly) Self-Imposed10:00 – Health Is Your...
2025-07-3122 min
Founder ModeWater, The Next Frontier with Ravi KuraniEPISODE 17Water‑tech pioneer Ravi Kurani explains how a floating pool‑chemistry robot became the ultimate hardware moat, why proprietary water data unlocks service marketplaces, and where trillion‑dollar opportunities lie at the water‑energy nexus. He recounts two years on Shenzhen factory floors perfecting Sutro, selling the startup before mass production, and now plotting to buy it back to tackle agriculture, cooling towers, and AI data centers. Hosts Jason Shafton and Kevin Henrikson unpack story‑driven design, founder persistence, and the future of “smart” water.CHAPTERS00:00 – From Pools to Robotics: Ravi’s origi...
2025-07-2424 min
Founder ModeFail Forward with Angus LoganEPISODE 16From living two years out of a suitcase to shipping AI products at Microsoft-scale, Angus Logan joins Kevin and Jason to unpack how “failing forward” accelerates learning. He explains why product teams should break things early each morning, how to shield a fast-moving startup culture inside a corporate giant, and the importance of weekly shipping cadences. Angus also shares his “LifeOps” playbook—100 travel-buddy rules, zero checked bags, and decision templates that free up brainpower—plus how culture-soaking trips and five-year-old Android phones keep him designing for real-world users everywhere.CHAPTERS00:00 – Wh...
2025-07-1724 min
Founder ModeOnshore to Offshore to AI with Shuja KeenEPISODE 15AI builder Shuja Keen joins Kevin and Jason to trace his 20-year journey from building offshore labor forces to AI-native operations. He explains how falling bandwidth costs kicked off globalization, why today’s custom LLM agents are ready while people and processes lag, and how an abundance mindset lets founders redesign workflows instead of bolting AI onto old playbooks. Using metaphors like orthotics that adapt to your feet, Shuja shows how bespoke software, not one-size-fits-all packages, will unlock personalization in healthcare, education, and beyond—and urges founders to stop selling car parts and deliver the full “Uber”...
2025-07-1024 min
Founder Mode15-Minute Workout with Lou PerrottaEPISODE 14In this episode of Founder Mode, we hit the gym with legendary trainer Coach Lou Perrotta—who's spent decades working with elite entrepreneurs, celebrities, and top performers. Coach Lou shares how fitness, mindset, and consistency create compounding results—both in the gym and in business. From towel pull-ups in hotel rooms to 15-minute daily routines, Kevin, Jason, and Coach Lou talk about building mental resilience, breaking plateaus, and why the best founders train their bodies as relentlessly as they train their minds.CHAPTERS00:00 – Why Every Founder Needs a Coach0...
2025-07-0314 min
Founder ModeBuilding AI Before It Was Cool with Dennis MortensenEPISODE 13Kevin Henrikson and Jason Shafton sit down with serial entrepreneur Dennis Mortensen (IndexTools, Visual Revenue, x.ai, and now LaunchBrightly) to unpack what it was really like to build an AI company years before large-language models existed. Dennis recounts owning the x.ai domain before Elon Musk, hand-labeling 32 million emails to train an early scheduling agent, and the costly product-design decisions that followed. He shares hard-won lessons on focusing on pain over technology, reverse-engineering post-acquisition goals, and why parenting teenagers is the ultimate sales boot camp. Dennis then introduces LaunchBrightly, his new platform that automates every...
2025-06-2631 min
Founder ModeFrom Hollywood to High-Rises: Making Robots with Asa HammondEPISODE 12From building gravity-defying camera rigs for Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity to sending drones into live nuclear reactors and, most recently, designing job-site robots that can survive the dust and chaos of construction, Asa Hammond’s career shows how precision engineering and artistic vision can coexist. In this conversation, Asa explains how the exacting pixel-perfect discipline of Hollywood VFX became the blueprint for ultra-reliable industrial robotics, why safety and repeatability always come before flashy features, and how new UX layers—voice, LLMs, demonstration learning—are finally making complex machines feel like familiar tools. Along the way, we hear t...
2025-06-1123 min
Founder ModeThe Future of Commerce: Product Design & Logistics with Samantha RoseEPISODE 11From hand-carving a single silicone spatula in her kitchen to running a portfolio of revived consumer brands, Sam Rose walks Kevin and Jason through the through-line of her career: obsess over the customer, build a brand (not just a product), and make logistics as lovable as design. She explains how a “collision with the customer” on Kickstarter forced her into customer-service mode before she even had inventory, why color stories beat strict SKU rationalization, what the GIR sale to Pattern taught her about single-channel risk, and how vertical integration led to Manifest’s 3PL and the launch...
2025-06-0325 min
Founder ModeHow to Bootstrap Your Tech Team Using AI with JJ ZhuangEPISODE 10Serial CTO and Acompli co-founder JJ Zhuang joins Kevin and Jason to explain why the next generation of great products will be built by tiny, AI-super-powered teams. He unpacks lessons from taking Acompli’s first line of code to a $200 million Microsoft exit, steering Instacart through pandemic hyper-growth, and relearning to code with tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor and Devin now writing the majority of his team’s code. Along the way JJ outlines the shift from hiring stack specialists to adaptable generalists, the rise of agentic “AI teammates,” and his mantra of “fast software” that lets founder...
2025-05-2727 min
Founder ModeDe-Risking Brick-and-Mortar for DTC Brands with Megan BerryEPISODE 9Megan Berry—architect, pop-up pioneer, and Mentors Fund partner—shows DTC founders how to move from clicks to bricks without torching cash. She explains her 8-foot-by-50-square-foot kiosk “permit hack,” the KPIs (unaided brand awareness, repeat engagement, dwell-time hot spots) that justify a multimillion-dollar flagship, and why post-COVID stores should feel like friction-free showrooms, not inventory caves. The talk digs into festival activations, cadence-matched merchandising, omni-channel partnerships that now include hotels and Pilates studios, AI-powered journey tracking, and practical founder advice on conserving runway while staying crazy-creative.CHAPTERS00:00 – Permit Hack & Pop...
2025-05-2030 min
Founder ModeAI-First Product Design with Ritwik PavanEPISODE 8In this episode, serial entrepreneur Ritwik Pavan joins Kevin Henrikson and Jason Shafton to explore the rise of AI-first product design and its profound implications on consumer hardware, smart cities, and modular construction. They discuss the essential strategies founders need to adopt, including the importance of hyper-personalization, overcoming challenges in training data, untapped opportunities in lifestyle and public safety sectors, and why AI is turning hardware into recurring revenue businesses.CHAPTERS00:34 – What It Means to Build AI-First03:53 – Ritwik’s Journey and AI Consumer Innovations08:41 – Smart Cities...
2025-05-1328 min
Founder ModeZero-to-One Marketing with Peter FaragoEPISODE 7In this episode, seasoned marketing leader Peter Farago shares zero-to-one marketing insights for early-stage startups, emphasizing empathy, iterative messaging, and organic inbound strategies. Drawing on experiences from Flurry, Acompli, and RunLLM, Peter highlights the importance of a clear value proposition, building brand credibility, and leveraging customer feedback loops. He also addresses AI’s evolving role in marketing, reassuring listeners that AI won’t replace jobs but will reshape how marketers operate. Packed with tangible advice, this conversation offers a roadmap for founders seeking to refine their product, storytelling, and growth approach in crowded markets.
2025-05-0631 min
Founder ModeRemote Boundaries – Saying No Without Burning Bridges with Viktor PeterssonEPISODE 6In this episode, Viktor Petersson shares how saying “no” can be a superpower for founders managing remote teams. He discusses practical strategies for email triage, boundary-setting to avoid burnout, and why in-person retreats are key to trust and alignment. Learn how Viktor’s approach to documentation, intrinsic motivation, and selective communication helps him preserve energy for what matters most—while still leaving the door open for valuable opportunities.CHAPTERS00:00 – Why Saying No Matters for Remote Teams02:23 – Setting Boundaries and Avoiding Burnout09:12 – Remote Work Fundamentals & Hiring15:18 – O...
2025-04-2928 min
Founder ModeThe Power of Asking with Andreas HomerEPISODE 5In this episode of Founder Mode, Jason and Kevin sit down with Andreas Homer—startup founder, former BD leader at Microsoft, and now Head of Product Partnerships at Shopify—to explore the underrated superpower of asking. They unpack how a single well-phrased request can unlock jobs, capital, and high-leverage relationships. Andreas shares how he’s built a career by asking with clarity, fairness, and authenticity—whether it's securing investor intros, landing competitive roles, or hiring top-tier talent. The episode also dives into how to ask differently depending on your audience—investors, users, or team members—and why being yo...
2025-04-2229 min
Founder ModeAnxiety is a Superpower if You Channel It with Slobodan "Sani" ManićEpisode 4: In this episode of Founder Mode, Jason and Kevin kick things off with an unexpected Bill Russell story—revealing how the legendary NBA center threw up before every single game, including the easiest matchups. It becomes a perfect parallel for founders grappling with anxieties that simply won’t go away. They argue that anxiety, if handled properly, can be the secret sauce of drive and resilience. Special guest Slobodan “Sani” Manic, host of the No Hacks podcast and founder of PodPacer, discusses turning nerves into productive energy, the importance of building culture with real integrity (no shortcuts!), and why data...
2025-04-0827 min
Founder ModeAI & The Future of SaaS with Alex FinnEpisode 3: In this episode of Founder Mode, Jason and Kevin dive into how AI is transforming startup life—from supercharging everyday workflows to enabling solo entrepreneurs to build fully functional SaaS products in record time. They share personal anecdotes on using AI tools for email summarization, research, marketing campaigns, and even multimillion-dollar licensing negotiations. The highlight is an interview with Alex Finn, founder of CreatorBuddy, who reveals how he leveraged AI coding to singlehandedly create a six-figure ARR content platform for X (formerly Twitter). Alex emphasizes the value of empowering individuals to act as independent entrepreneurs within organizations and ex...
2025-04-0129 min
Founder ModeThe Hard Truth About Health & Hustle: You Can't Have it AllEpisode 2: In this episode, Jason Shafton and Kevin Henrikson discuss balancing health and hustle as a founder, exploring why many entrepreneurs struggle to maintain their health and relationships while building businesses. They highlight the importance of recognizing the phase you're in, using tools and AI to simplify health management, and proactively communicating with family and colleagues to protect essential relationships. Kevin shares insights from his extensive tracking of health data and how he leverages technology, while Jason provides candid reflections on managing family life amidst intense work commitments. The conversation emphasizes sustainable practices and prioritizing impactful actions over mere...
2025-03-2530 min
Founder ModeLuck is a Skill - You Can Manufacture ItEpisode 1: In this first episode of Founder Mode, hosts Jason Shafton (Google, Headspace) and Kevin Henrikson (Acompli, Outlook, Instacart) break down the idea that luck isn't random—it's a skill you can manufacture. Through candid stories from their experiences at Google, Microsoft, and early-stage startups, Jason and Kevin reveal how successful founders intentionally create their own opportunities by taking risks, building strategic relationships, and rapidly experimenting. The conversation highlights the true essence of "founder mode," emphasizing a relentless bias for action, deep customer focus, and the growing importance of AI tools for entrepreneurs. Whether you're just starting out or le...
2025-03-1446 min