The Startup Storybook Podcast

He Asked His Friend "What Sucks?" and Sold the Answer

Jordan Lisnow asked a friend one question — "what sucks about your job?" — and turned the answer into a startup he sold before graduating college. He did it twice. This one's the playbook for finding real problems and building fast with no technical background. 🔗 Connect with Jordan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-lisnow/] 🔗 Check out Partunity [https://partunity.com/]

Ep.34 School Is My Side Hustle Now | Parth Mehta, Makistry

Parth Mehta taught himself to code over one summer and built Makistry — an AI-powered CAD platform with 300+ users and 7,000+ designs. He’s a sophomore at UT Austin, plays squash for the university team, performs original music at Austin open mics, and calls school “my side hustle now.” In this episode: the battle robot class that sparked the idea, leading a team of peers when nothing he tried worked, imposter syndrome on calls with executives three times his age, and why there are “no miracle people.”Try Makistry: makistry.ai [https://makistry.ai]Parth on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/parth-mehta100/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/parth-mehta100/]

Ep. 32 AI Can't Replace Your Tutor. But It Can Make Them Way Better. | Arnav Gupta

Arnav Gupta is a freshman at Stanford running a full-time startup. Athira connects students with tutors in under 30 seconds for 15-25 minute micro-tutoring sessions — and the AI behind it is learning how great tutors sense confusion, adapt their tone, and personalize in real time. In this episode, Arnav talks about meeting his co-founder through Y Combinator's matching platform before even starting college, launching to 500 users in two weeks, why he thinks LinkedIn is making high schoolers worse, and the ethical line between supplementing human teachers and replacing them. 🔗 Learn more about Athira: https://athira.tech 🔗 Connect with Arnav: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnav-gupta-bb7a06232/

Ep. 31 This Young Founder is Making a Huge Impact | Coding w/ Impact, Kashika Khurana

Most high schoolers can't even imagine leading initiatives that shape their community and inspire the next generation, unless they see the power in their own voice. Kashika Khurana shows how young leaders can rewrite the STEM story and foster confidence that defies age and stereotypes.In this episode, Kashika shares her story in founding three distinct non-profits, each with the goal of empowering young people. She discusses how AI literacy workshops are helping elementary and middle schoolers to not just consume technology but to understand and build it — turning them into the creators of tomorrow’s AI. Kashika’s unique perspective on creativity, problem-solving, and activism in STEM proves that age is just a number when you have conviction and a clear vision.Want to be on the podcast yourself, or know somebody who might be a good fit? Reach out to us ⁠here:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTL0DCjge6Tztd_JqaK1egBpmZOcM5ZgMukDmr-l0qhWS8HQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=103306181892351881850

Ep.31 Ideas Are Cheap. Execution Is Everything | Sudhanva Athreya, SportsSense

Sudhanva Athreya ran a financial services company before 21. Now he's building SportSense — an AI-powered platform that wants to change how fans follow sports by making it personal. In this episode, Sudhanva talks about what he learned leading a team with no technical background, losing a co-founder to a $150K job offer, and why he believes ideas are worthless without the people willing to execute them.Learn more about SportSense: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sportssenseco/Connect with Sudhanva: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudhanvaaathreya/Want to be on the podcast yourself, or know somebody who might be a good fit? Reach out to us ⁠here:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTL0DCjge6Tztd_JqaK1egBpmZOcM5ZgMukDmr-l0qhWS8HQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=103306181892351881850