Alex Konrad

soon that will be the same price as a regular croissant in NYC

Omg this is the best or worst thing I’ve seen

I’m sorry but this has gone too far

usually I type on a bluetooth keyboard, but sometimes it just feels right to bang something out on the built-in one.

good luck replacing me with an AI that can do cool tricks like that

Valar Atomics’ Isaiah Taylor: Solving AI’s Energy Crisis With Nuclear ‘Gigasites’ Spotify video

And listen wherever you get your podcasts!
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5RwC...

What advice would Valar Atomics CEO Isaiah Taylor give his earlier self?

Hire the best before you need them.

"That tick rate of moving really fast is something that you do by bringing on the best."

Watch the full interview on The Upstarts Podcast:

YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=mNFC...

Does 'move fast and break things' work at a nuclear startup?

"Safety is non-negotiable, but slow and safe are not the same thing," he tells The Upstarts Podcast.

Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=mNFC...

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5RwC...

Profile: Meet Column, The Most Important Fintech Startup You’ve Never Heard Of Plaid co-founder William Hockey is building a 'durable' unicorn at Column, his startup with $200M in revenue and a (maybe) valuation of $6B. His bigger fight: a new financial 'Cold War' with China.

Exclusive profile: Plaid co-founder William Hockey is building a 'durable' unicorn at Column, his startup with $200M in revenue and a valuation of (maybe) $6B. His bigger fight: a new financial 'Cold War' with China.

I spent months reporting this piece, the first edition of The Upstarts Profile 👇

Gamma's Launching A Fund With Its VCs. Will Other Startups Follow? The $10M collaboration with VC firm Afore Capital bring even earlier-stage a growth tactic used by Anthropic and Perplexity. History suggests it's not for everyone.

When does a startup need its own venture fund?

Gamma, the AI software maker valued at $2.1B, is launching a $10M fund, @upstarts.bsky.social exclusively reports.

I spoke to CEO Grant Lee about the move -- and whether the tactic used by Anthropic and Perplexity can work for other, newer unicorns.

"I was like, 'Yeah, of course, dude!' But it's very non-obvious if you haven't had that problem before."

-Loyal founder Celine Halioua shares how one VC's mind was blown when they asked dog owner friends what they'd pay for her longevity drug 👀

Catch the full episode: youtube.com/watch?v=nU9v...

Loyal’s Celine Halioua: From Defying Doubters To Pioneering Dog Longevity Spotify video

Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/7lkF...

And if you enjoy the convo, please subscribe, rate the show, and drop a comment so we can reach more people with our @upstarts.bsky.social stories 🙏

Loyal’s Celine Halioua: From Defying Doubters To Pioneering Dog Longevity YouTube video by Upstarts Media

"People would literally laugh in my face... no one has an investment memo for dog longevity."

Loyal CEO Celine Halioua is pioneering her own startup category, raising $250M+ to secure FDA approval for drugs to help our furry friends live longer 🐕

Hear her story now of The Upstarts Podcast 👀

I will not eat the room service chocolate covered strawberries left untouched in the hotel hallway.

I will not eat the room service chocolate covered strawberries left untouched in the hotel hallway.

I will not eat the room service chocolate covered strawberries left un—

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjQ7...

Listen on Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/01QD...

Or wherever you get your podcasts! Thank you so much for watching and listening!

Canva’s Melanie Perkins on scaling startup vision and values for global impact YouTube video by Upstarts Media

So excited to share the first episode of The Upstarts Podcast!

I spoke to Canva CEO Melanie Perkins, who went from Upstart in Australia to running the world's most valuable woman-led startup.

Melanie's ambition: “build one of the world’s most valuable companies, and do the most good we can do.”

whoever named airport WiFi this was spot on

Upstarts host Alex Konrad with Loyal CEO Celine Halioua

Subscribe to the show on @upstarts.bsky.social social and wherever you get your podcasts.

YouTube:
www.youtube.com/@UpstartsMedia

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1D8B7Wz...

More founders in AI, aerospace, biotech, fintech and fertility to follow!

The Upstarts Podcast | Trailer YouTube video by Upstarts Media

News: Upstarts is launching our flagship podcast 🚀

Behind every world-changing business, there's an Upstart -- a founder who took on the status quo to achieve big impact.

On The Upstarts Podcast, I'll chat with a startup leader each week about their 'Upstart Moment', from the tech to the tactics 💪

Jeffrey Epstein being super creepy in front of a startup founder

When a PR fixer turned VC introduced a startup founder to Jeffrey Epstein... what a lede from @iainmartin.bsky.social 🫠

www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...

This Startup Raised $20M From Sequoia To Build 'The Cursor Of CRM' Day AI enters general availability to take on CEO Christopher O'Donnell's former employer, HubSpot -- and even Salesforce.

Exclusive: startup Day AI raised $20M in a Series A led by Sequoia to build the ‘Cursor for CRM’

CEO Christopher O’Donnell, ex HubSpot, tells @upstarts.bsky.social:

“Salesforce as we think of it today is not going to exist in 2 or 3 years. I don’t know if it’ll be us, but I really hope it’s us.”

Ah, the age-old dilemma: honor the social commitments I made, or keep sitting next to my dog

Meet The Aviation Startup Taking The Bumps Out Of Your Next Flight Flight Science has raised $7 million to help airlines like BermudAir move you more smoothly through the skies.

Exclusive: startup Flight Science is building tech to take some of the turbulence out of air travel ✈️

Led by an industry veteran (and recreational pilot) with Google and Apple experience, the startup has raised $7M to build apps for dispatchers and pilots next.

Read the story here, fully free 👇

Coach Bombay learns that Greenland is covered with ice, and Iceland is very nice

We could’ve avoided so much drama by just giving Trump a cameo in Mighty Ducks 2

Why Are Two Of The Biggest AI Startups Both Hiring A Chemical Weapons Expert? Inside dueling, and potentially disturbing, job listings from Anthropic and OpenAI on the heels of their biology pushes.

Last week, an @upstarts.bsky.social reader sent me an eye-catching job listing from Anthropic:

“Policy Manager, Chemical Weapons and High Yield Explosives”

Then I found a similar open role at OpenAI (paying more) 👀

What gives? I asked around to find out👇

If you’re already in line to wish me a happy birthday, STAY IN LINE

Anthropic And OpenAI Are Doubling Down On Health. Here's What It Means For Startups And VCs. 8 expert-driven hot takes that break down what startups need to know about the AI labs' announcements from healthcare's big week.

It's healthcare's big week, and Anthropic and OpenAI showed up with big dueling announcements about pushing deeper into health AI.

I spoke to them and some founders and investors to break down what it means for the wider startup ecosystem for today's birthday edition of @upstarts.bsky.social.

Would You Trust AI To Help Raise Your Round? Brash chatbot Boardy promised to help 100 startup founders fundraise by year's end. Upstarts has the story on what happened next.

I wrote about Boardy, the “AI super connector” that promises to help founders close funding rounds faster, and other automated startup-VC matching tools popping up 👀

www.upstartsmedia.com/p/would-you-...

More Bangers, More Fun: 6 Upstarts Media Resolutions For 2026 Looking back at what stories worked, what didn’t, and where we’re excited to spend more time with Upstarts next year.

This has been the craziest, hardest and most rewarding year of my career in founding @upstarts.bsky.social.

I spent the past couple of days reflecting on what worked, what didn't, and setting 6 resolutions for Upstarts to grow in 2026.

Thanks so much for reading, and Happy New Year🙏

Does this count as touching grass

“This is my last chance ticket out of Substack hell” — Knives Out

the one time I get to pick on family movie night