Founder Radio

Antonia Marino, Co-Founder and COO of payments and credit platform Kontempo.io on Kickstarting the Business, 10x growth in Year 2, Focus and Endurance

Want to know how successful founders turn ideas into empires? Listen to Founder Radio for inside stories from innovative entrepreneurs from all over the globe. Hit follow on your podcast app or YouTube for instant updates! Antonia is COO and Co-founder of Kontempo. Kontempo is a leading payments and credit platform for Mexico’s industrial sector. Started in 2021, but with previous experience in the sector, they’ve executed with laser focus. In 2024 they 10x-ed their business are are now expanding the team and preparing for the next phase of growth. Antonia shares everything from Kontempo’s business and their first year, to her own development and a lot of wisdom for future founders and tech operators. Listen to this episode for lots of insights on * The first year of Kontempo: The plan, the execution, the focus * How Kontempo benefitted from the tight knit network amongst their customers * How Kontempo learned to move up in each value chain they were active in * The people Antonia is inspired by and what she learned from them * The importance of endurance, both in private life and in business * The right and the wrong reasons to start a business * The character traits Antonia thinks you need to enjoy the ride * Timeless lessons on planning vs going with the flow, and being yourself Enjoy listening!

Tinashe Ruzane of Flexclub on The Idea Maze, Their Growth and Restructuring Rollercoaster and Personal Growth

Want to know how successful founders turn ideas into empires? Listen to Founder Radio for inside stories from innovative entrepreneurs from all over the globe. Hit follow on your podcast app or YouTube for instant updates! Tinashe is CEO and Co-founder of Flexclub. Flexclub is piloting an Uber-like car-network for long term rentals, and for other brands to build on top of. Started in 2018, they’ve gone to multiple iterations of their product, while navigating radically changing circumstances for mobility companies: COVID and the end of ZIRP. Tinashe opens up on Flexclub’s rollercoaster, his personal journey, and his learnings along the way. Listen to this episode for lots of insights on * The first year of Flexclub: The idea, the team, partners, pivots * How Flexclub responded to the pandemic and the end of ZIRP * Why being a founder is like playing Age of Empires (!) * The idea maze of the on-demand car industry * Tinashe’s lessons with regards to raising capital * Tinashe’s lessons with regards to finding product / market fit * Find a leadership style that’s both effective and true to yourself * Tinashe’s personal growth throughout the adventure Enjoy listening!

Yoram Wijngaarde of Dealroom.co on following your intuition, the courage to stand out, phases of growth, and how his company shaped him as a person

Want to know how successful founders turn ideas into empires? Listen to Founder Radio for inside stories from innovative entrepreneurs from all over the globe. Hit follow on your podcast app or YouTube for instant updates! Yoram is CEO and founder of Dealroom. Dealroom is a Bloomberg for early stage private companies: It provides data on the companies, their founders, their funding rounds and valuations, and many other aspects of the business. Dealroom’s data is used by investors, corporates and governments in equal parts. In 11 years, the company has grown from just Yoram to over 90 FTE in 2024. Listen to this episode for lots of insights on * The early days of Dealroom: The idea, the data, pivots, first traction * The trends Yoram is spotting in investor interests * Dealrooms own fundraising experiences * What Dealroom data is being used for * Yoram’s lessons on building a company * The different phases of growth, and what that requires from a CEO * The importance of following your intuition and doing something different Enjoy listening!

Karun Arya of GetVantage on the Early Days, How GetVantage Provides Business Loans in 7-10 days, India's New Digital Infrastructure and his Lessons on Entrepreneurship

Want to know how successful founders turn ideas into empires? Listen to Founder Radio for inside stories from innovative entrepreneurs from all over the globe. Hit follow on your podcast app or YouTube for instant updates! Karun is part of the founding team and Chief Growth Officer of GetVantage. GetVantage invests between $25k - $2.5m in emerging business in India across certain sectors, like eCommerce, SaaS, gaming, cleantech. Karun is also an investor and advisor in GajiGesa, who’s founder Vidit was on this podcast earlier. Karun has a PR and comms background and has 15 yoe at both corporates and scale-ups like Uber and Rolls Royce, before starting GetVantage. Listen to this episode for lots of insights on * The early days of GetVantage: The idea, the team, the technology, first traction * The USD 500 - 1,500bn SME funding gap and how GetVantage is helping close it * How GetVantage is able to provide business loans within 7 to 10 days (!) * The Indian government’s breakthrough initiatives to build a national digital infrastructure  * Karuns journey from India to the US to Singapore to India, and the change he sees * Karun’s lessons on PR and comms and key tactics for others to up their game * Karun’s lessons on entrepreneurship, and the importance of always remaining a student Enjoy listening!

Vidit Agrawal of GajiGesa on getting from zero to one and from one to 350k users in 4 years, on selecting a business opportunity, working in Indonesia and starting a company with your wife

Want to know how successful founders turn ideas into empires? Listen to Founder Radio for inside stories from innovative entrepreneurs from all over the globe. Hit follow on your podcast app or YouTube for instant updates! Vidit Agrawal is the founder of GajiGesa (Indonesia), which manages employee finances in South-East Asia, and has amassed 350k users in just under 4 years. With GajiGesa, employees have early access to their wages and no longer need predatory lending, and employers save thousands of hours on administration. Before GajiGesa, Vidit has spent time at several iconic companies: UBS, Uber, and Stripe, and he explains what their cultures were like, and what parts he incorporated.  Listen to this episode for Vidit’s stories on * Selecting a business opportunity to work on * How he factored lifestyle and passion of the problem into that * The early days of GajiGesa: Finding product market fit * After product market fit: Scaling and and repetitive processes * Whether Vidit recommends starting a company with your wife.. * What needs to happen to make the company break-even in 2025 * Why Singapore is such a great country to live and do business in * The quality of live in Indonesia, and the first wave of tech businesses there Enjoy listening!