Outsider Inc.

The Outsider Playbook Part 1: Underestimated, Under-Resourced, and Built to Win

Host Ian Hathaway marks 25 episodes of Outsider Inc. by stepping back to synthesize an emerging "outsider playbook" from founders, investors, and ecosystem builders succeeding outside traditional venture hubs. The episode focuses on underestimation and constraint as structural advantages: being dismissed builds hunger and calluses; small markets force repeatable systems and early scaling; capital scarcity creates discipline and focus; missing infrastructure pushes founders to build more comprehensive, defensible solutions; and lived customer pain produces deeper insight. Stories include Mercado Libre's rise from Argentina amid skepticism, Zapier's Central Missouri origins, SendGrid's work-ethic forged by hardship, investors doubting Partpic even amid an Amazon offer, and lessons from ExactTarget, EquipmentShare, OpenLoop, Duo Security, DoubleClick, and others on bootstrapping, resilience, learning from being wrong, and "failure is not an option." Show Notes: (02:14) Being Underestimated (05:29) Proving Yourself Twice (11:34) Constraint as Advantage (12:11) Small Markets Scale Faster (15:11) Capital Scarcity Discipline (17:10) Missing Infrastructure Moats (20:42) Outsider Toolkit Basics (21:08) Bootstrapping and Optionality (24:19) Focus and Early Revenue (26:21) Hustle and Customer Grind (28:04) Resilience Through Failure (30:34) Gatekeepers and Being Early (32:15) Learning From Being Wrong (33:59) Irrational Commitment ✅ Host: Ian Hathway - Co-Founder & Managing Partner, FOVC ✅ Guests: Hernan Kazah, Mercado Libre, Kaszek; Wade Foster, Zapier; Isaac Saldana, SendGrid; Jewel Burks Solomon, PartPic, Collab Capital; Shegun Otulana, TheraNest, Harmony Venture Labs; Linda Rottenberg, Endeavor; Gail Goodman, Constant Contact; Willy Schlacks, EquipmentShare; Scott Dorsey, ExactTarget, High Alpha; Jon Lensing, OpenLoop; Dug Song, Duo Security; Jason Seats, Slicehost, Techstars; Sean O'Sullivan, MapInfo, SOSV; Guillaume de Zwirek, Artera; Michael Praeger, AvidXchange; Melodie van der Baan, Max Retail; Brad Feld, Foundry, Techstars; Kevin O'Connor, DoubleClick, Graphiq, ScOp; Chris Schroeder, Startup Rising, HealthCentral, Next Billion Capital Partners; Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado; AIS; Blue Mountain; Proflowers; Techstars Produced by Spellbinder Media. Executive Produced by Bridge Five Ventures. Copyright ©️2026, Bridge Five Ventures, LLC, All rights reserved. Listen & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or at outsiderinc.substack.com.

Serial Entrepreneur and Public Servant: Leading Like a Builder in Business and Government w/ Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado

In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway sits down with Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a serial entrepreneur and Techstars co-founder who has spent his career blending founder instincts with public service. Jared shares how he built and exited multiple tech companies early, including BlueMountain and ProFlowers, and what those years taught him about capital, timing, and learning by doing. They also unpack how a founder mindset translates inside government, why Congress felt more like entrepreneurship than executive leadership, and how Jared approached policy like a builder. Along the way, Jared discusses accredited investor reform, why wealth is a poor proxy for competence, and the practical systems thinking behind Colorado's biggest moves, from universal preschool and insulin price caps to Bitcoin tax payments and criminal justice reform. The conversation is a rare look at what happens when a repeat founder brings startup operating principles into politics, and what outsiders can learn from it. Show Notes: (03:00) Early work ethic, risk tolerance, and learning in the deep end (07:00) Three exits before 30 and the pattern behind them (10:00) Co-founding Techstars and the early days of backing founders (14:00) Building and scaling ProFlowers and disintermediating the supply chain (16:00) Running for Congress and stepping into public service (20:00) Why Congress felt like entrepreneurship, not CEO leadership (22:00) Founder mindset in policy and the push to rethink "qualified investors" (23:00) Outcomes as governor, universal preschool, insulin caps, pardons, and more (19:00) Bitcoin for taxes and treating government like a system you can improve (32:00) Advice for first-time founders and why every new founder is an outsider (34:00) Beyond the Bio: Jared Polis ✅ Host: Ian Hathway - Co-Founder & Managing Partner, FOVC ✅ Guest: Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado; AIS; Blue Mountain; Proflowers; Techstars Produced by Spellbinder Media. Executive Produced by Bridge Five Ventures. Copyright ©️2026, Bridge Five Ventures, LLC, All rights reserved. Listen & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or at outsiderinc.substack.com.

Asking Better Questions with Humility: 15 Years on the Ground in Emerging Markets w/ Chris Schroeder, Next Billion Ventures; Author of Startup Rising; former CEO, HealthCentral

In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway sits down with Chris Schroeder, entrepreneur, investor, Co-Founder of Next Billion Ventures, and author of Startup Rising, to explore what American entrepreneurs and investors miss when they overlook the rest of the world. Chris reflects on a career spanning politics, media, venture-backed startups, and global investing, and shares how a 2010 trip to Dubai reshaped his thinking about entrepreneurship, emerging markets, and the future of innovation. They discuss the power of asking better questions, why humility matters more than certainty, what Silicon Valley often gets wrong about founders in other regions, and how time spent on the ground in places like the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and China reveals patterns most people never see. Chris also shares lessons from building and selling HealthCentral, writing Startup Rising, investing through Next Billion Ventures, and why the best founders stay focused on real problems, not prestige. Show Notes: (03:00) Why asking better questions matters more than having all the answers (05:00) The wonder of being wrong and learning through humility (09:00) Family history, immigration, and the entrepreneurial mindset (14:20) Politics, transactional relationships, and the long game of trust (20:10) Building inside the Washington Post during digital disruption (27:45) The HealthCentral thesis and why community can save lives (33:10) The Dubai trip that changed Chris Schroeder's life (38:00) Writing Startup Rising and seeing what others missed in the Middle East (41:30) Why global founders need to be understood on their own terms (50:45) What Chris learns by getting on the ground in China (55:20) The questions American entrepreneurs and investors should be asking now (58:45) The danger of "third cappuccino syndrome" and losing focus on what matters (1:00:00) Beyond the Bio: Chris Schroeder ✅ Host: Ian Hathway - Co-Founder & Managing Partner, FOVC ✅ Guest: Chris Schroeder, Next Billion Ventures; Author of Startup Rising; former CEO, HealthCentral Produced by Spellbinder Media. Executive Produced by Bridge Five Ventures. Copyright ©️2026, Bridge Five Ventures, LLC, All rights reserved. Listen & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or at outsiderinc.substack.com [https://outsiderinc.substack.com].

Turning Struggle into Strategy w/ Willy Schlacks, Co-Founder & President, EquipmentShare

In this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway sits down with Willy Schlacks, Co-Founder and President of EquipmentShare, to explore what it really looks like to build a category-defining company outside Silicon Valley. Willy shares how EquipmentShare grew from operator pain in the field into a vertically integrated construction tech platform spanning technology, equipment, and services, and why embracing constraint can be a strategic advantage, not a limitation. They dig into the chaos of jobsite operations, the early decision to take a platform approach, what Willy learned from time inside Y Combinator, and how building from Missouri forced the company to master scale early. Willy also reflects on taking EquipmentShare public at a $7B valuation, building the startup ecosystem through Redbud VC, and what he looks for in founders when the hard part is still ahead. Show Notes: (03:00) Why struggle and friction can be an advantage (10:00) Curiosity, questions, and what "creation" really means (16:10) Reframing mistakes and failure as fuel (19:05) The operator pain behind EquipmentShare (23:00) The jobsite moment that forced the idea into motion (27:00) Inside Y Combinator and what Willy learned from the Silicon Valley bubble (29:05) Building from Missouri and the meaning of "home" (32:45) Constraint as a forcing function for scale, systems, and resilience (35:25) Going public and what founders misunderstand about the shift (38:10) Redbud VC and building an ecosystem close to home (41:10) What Willy looks for in founders when success is still unproven (46:05) Legacy, ritual, and the long game of creation (48:00) Beyond the Bio: Willy Schlacks ✅ Host: Ian Hathway - Co-Founder & Managing Partner, FOVC ✅ Guest: Willy Schlacks, Co-Founder & President, EquipmentShare Produced by Spellbinder Media. Executive Produced by Bridge Five Ventures. Copyright ©️2026, Bridge Five Ventures, LLC, All rights reserved. Listen & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or at outsiderinc.substack.com.

Building Better, Not Bigger: Mentorship, Networks, and Startup Communities w/ David Cohen, Co-Founder & CEO, Techstars

n this episode of Outsider Inc., host Ian Hathaway sits down with David Cohen, Co-Founder and CEO of Techstars, to unpack how a community-first mindset helped reshape what founder support can look like far beyond Silicon Valley. David traces his path from early founder wins and failures to building Techstars out of a small Boulder experiment rooted in mentorship and Give First. They discuss why networks and trust matter as much as capital, the hard tradeoffs that come with scale, and why David returned to the CEO seat with a renewed focus on quality, founder outcomes, and long-term community strength. Along the way, David breaks down his founder evaluation mantra, why teams beat ideas, what he believes most investors overvalue, and how to sustain a founder journey without losing yourself to it. Show Notes: (03:10) Community as the through line from the beginning (08:25) Early computing and the power of networks (12:40) First startup lessons and "unsucking" real problems (16:35) Why Boulder and how place shaped the journey (22:15) The moment networks became the unlock (26:30) Building Techstars with mentorship and Give First (31:50) Culture, scale, and why "better is better" (37:05) How David evaluates founders: Team, team, team (42:20) What most people overvalue in startups (46:15) Founder mode, identity, and work life harmony (52:30) Outsiders, underestimated founders, and why the model works (57:10) Beyond the Bio: David Cohen ✅ Host: Ian Hathway - Co-Founder & Managing Partner, FOVC ✅ Guest: David Cohen, Co-Founder & CEO, Techstars Produced by Spellbinder Media. Executive Produced by Bridge Five Ventures. Copyright ©️2025, Bridge Five Ventures, LLC, All rights reserved. Listen & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or at outsiderinc.substack.com