First Builders
Episodes
First Builders Holiday Special 2025
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this holiday special episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down to reflect on 2025, what it was like to build The Counci...
Building Reliable AI: Haroon Choudery on Infrastructure, Education, and Scaling Trust
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI is moving faster than ever—but reliability remains the missing layer.In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit dow...
Law, Policy & the Public Trust: Prashanthi Raman on Building at the Frontier
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Regulation and policy is often seen as a barrier to innovation, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and...
Law, Policy & the Public Trust: Prashanthi Raman on Building at the Frontier
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Regulation and policy is often seen as a barrier to innovation, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and...
Law, Policy & the Public Trust: Prashanthi Raman on Building at the Frontier
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Regulation and policy is often seen as a barrier to innovation, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and...
Voice AI for Maintenance: Zacharie Esmili on Rail, Robotics and Founding Quintess AI
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if AI fit the way frontline workers actually do their jobs, instead of forcing them to fit the tools? In this episode of First Builders, hosts...
Scaling with Taste: Cecilia Ziniti on GC AI’s Series B and the Discipline Behind Hypergrowth
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A real-time debrief on a breakout moment. GC AI just announced its Series B led by Scale Venture Partners and Northzone after crossing $10M ARR and se...
Scaling with Taste: Cecilia Ziniti on GC AI’s Series B and the Discipline Behind Hypergrowth
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A real-time debrief on a breakout moment. GC AI just announced its Series B led by Scale Venture Partners and Northzone after crossing $10M ARR and se...
Democratizing Wealth: Alessandro Chesser on Building Dynasty and Lessons from Carta’s Early Days
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the same wealth tools billionaires use were accessible to everyone?In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit do...
Building Outside the Valley: Jack Greco on Scaling ACV Auctions and Betting on Builders
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you build a billion-dollar company when you’re not in Silicon Valley?On this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit...
Aging in Place: Cameron Carter on Leading Rosarium Health and Navigating Healthcare Policy Changes
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if healthcare started at home?In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Cameron Carter, Founder and CEO ...
Empathy at Scale: Lauren Makler on Building Cofertility’s Unique Model for Families
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if freezing your eggs could also help another family grow theirs?In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down wi...
Go Slow to Go Fast: Eliana Berger on Building Joyful Health
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it really take to build in healthcare from the ground up? In this episode of First Builders, Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Elia...
Data, Distance & the Decade Build: Web Sun on Scaling Komodo Health
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to scale a healthcare data company over a decade—while bridging silos across an entire industry?Web Sun, Co-Founder and President ...
Empathy at Scale: Lisa Popovici on Building the Future of CX with AI
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a frustrated operator decides to solve her own problem—and ends up building one of the most empathetic AI companies in the market?...
Designing with Intention: David Hoang on Building the Right Things First
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to make design a growth engine—not an afterthought?David Hoang, VP of Design at Atlassian and former design leader at Webflow, Rep...
From Medicine to Market: Danish Nagda on Breaking In and Building Boldly
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does a doctor become a startup founder? Danish Nagda, Co-Founder & CEO of Rezilient, joins First Builders to share his journey from the hospit...
The Founder’s Pivot: How Cecilia Ziniti Went from GC to Leading in AI
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to go from General Counsel to AI founder? In this episode of First Builders, Cecilia Ziniti—CEO of GC AI and former GC at multiple...
Sober, Solo, and Scaling: Koby Conrad on Building Sunflower from the Ground Up
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a high-growth operator turns founder—and builds a company rooted in personal mission? Koby Conrad, solo founder and CEO of Sunflow...
IPO-Level Bets: Dan Perez on Building Hinge Health from Zero to $400M ARR
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Perez is no stranger to high-stakes decisions. From walking away from an Oxford PhD program to scaling a digital health company through one of the...
Founders, Firestarters, and First Principles: A Month of First Builders
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this July 4th special, we’re taking a quick pause from new interviews to celebrate the sparks that launched First Builders. This 20-minute highli...
The Builder Behind the IPO: Maia Bittner on Founding Pinch and Scaling Chime
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we sit down with Maia Bittner—a three-time founder, angel investor, and early team member at Chime—to explore the arc of a builde...
From Engineer to Rebel CEO: Jason Prestinario on Fighting for Patient Rights
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we sit down with Jason Prestinario—Particle Health CEO of and former leader at Komodo Heath and Palantir Technologies —for a cand...
The Media Operator’s Mindset: Nathan Baschez on Substack, Virality, and Building Ideas in Public
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we sit down with Nathan Baschez—founder of Lex, former co-founder of Every, founding team at Substack, and creator of Divinations—...
The First Builder Archetype: Rohini Pandhi on Product, Platforms, and the Path to Venture
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we’re joined by Rohini Pandhi—Head of Expansion at Mercury, former product leader at Square (Block), and current partner at Trans...