13 Podcasts For Startup Founders
Let’s skip the “thought leader” intro. You’re here because you want real shit. Podcasts can be like a cheat code; no fluff, no filter—just founders, operators, and VCs talking about the playbook they bled for.
It’s effectively like mentorship advice except in audio format from people who’ve raised, shipped, scaled, sold—and sometimes failed hard.
Here’s our list. No filler. All fire. 🔥
1. The Pitch
This is startup adrenaline. Real founders. Real VCs. Real-time yes-or-no. It’s like Shark Tank, minus the gimmicks and hair gel. Want to know what investors actually listen for? Start here.
2. Lenny’s Podcast
PMs love it. Founders steal from it. Operators swear by it. Lenny dives deep with people who’ve built the product, hired the team, and made it work. Bonus: zero ego.
3. Startup Therapy
🛋️ Startups.com – Startup Therapy
Forget growth hacks. This is emotional survival for builders. Two founders talk burnout, cofounder drama, and the mental toll of chasing “the dream.” Raw, real, and kind of necessary.
4. Masters of Scale
Reid Hoffman knows scale like Tony Hawk knows 900s. Every episode is a deep dive into what it really takes to go from napkin sketch to IPO. Sometimes philosophical. Always practical.
5. Not Boring with Packy McCormick
Part strategy breakdown, part techno-optimist fever dream. Packy covers everything from weird startups to big shifts in how we live and work. It’s smart, surprising, and impossible to ignore.
6. 20VC with Harry Stebbings
🎙️ 20VC
Harry’s got a Rolodex that would make your Series A lawyer weep. The VCs you want on your cap table and the founders you want in your corner—they’re all here, getting real.
7. Founders
Biographies of legends. Jobs, Musk, Estee Lauder, Phil Knight—you name it. If you’re into learning from the obsessed weirdos who changed the game, this is your jam.
8. The Logan Bartlett Show
Smart convos with smarter people. Logan brings on operators, investors, and CEOs for candid interviews that go way deeper than the usual PR polish.
9. Acquired
The business school you wish you went to. Every episode is a masterclass in how iconic companies were built—warts, pivots, and billion-dollar bets included.
10. My First Million
This is what happens when two serial entrepreneurs start spitballing ideas and break down real businesses in the wild. Sometimes hilarious, always useful.
11. Y Combinator Podcast
All killer, no pitch deck. Founders and YC partners drop hard-won lessons on everything from idea validation to scaling your first fire. If you’re early stage, it’s gospel.
12. Ventures from the Valley
R136 Ventures. Short, sharp snapshots from the frontier. Hear from early-stage founders building the next big thing before TechCrunch even knows they exist.
13. a16z Podcast
🔮 a16z
Big tech brainwaves and future-shaping ideas. Whether you’re neck-deep in AI, fintech, bio, or something we don’t even have a word for yet—this podcast maps where it’s all going.
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