What happens when software adapts to humans, rather than humans adapting to software?In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James and Hector sit down with Jonathan Sanders, Founder &amp; CEO of Light, the AI-native finance platform redefining how businesses manage money.Jonathan&apos;s journey spans investment banking, consulting, Pleo, founding Juni, and now building Light. Along the way, he has developed a unique perspective on technology, AI, and what the next generation of business software will look like.The conversation explores Jonathan&apos;s concept of &quot;organic software&quot; where AI agents learn, adapt, and operate alongside teams, reducing complexity and transforming finance from a reporting function into a strategic intelligence layer.Jonathan shares real-world examples of AI agents managing company spend, monitoring compliance, automating finance workflows, and generating insights that would have been impossible just a few years ago.The discussion also covers founder psychology, building through uncertainty, AI-first organisations, and how leadership teams must evolve in a world where software development, product design, and operations are increasingly powered by AI.Topics Covered:• Jonathan&apos;s journey from finance and consulting into startups • Why founding a company is one of the hardest ways to create change • The concept of &quot;organic software&quot; and AI-native business tools • How AI agents learn from company behaviour and improve over time • Building finance software that tells stories instead of generating reports • Real-world examples of autonomous finance workflows • Why AI is changing the role of CFOs and finance teams • How Light uses AI internally across product, engineering, and operations • The rise of AI-first organisations and new ways of working • Founder resilience, stress, and the realities of building companies • Why software development is changing faster than most people realise • The future of business operations in an AI-native worldThis is a conversation about the next generation of software, the future of work, and what happens when AI becomes a true operating system for businesses.

<description>&lt;p&gt;What happens when software adapts to humans, rather than humans adapting to software?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James and Hector sit down with Jonathan Sanders, Founder &amp;amp; CEO of Light, the AI-native finance platform redefining how businesses manage money.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Jonathan&amp;apos;s journey spans investment banking, consulting, Pleo, founding Juni, and now building Light. Along the way, he has developed a unique perspective on technology, AI, and what the next generation of business software will look like.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The conversation explores Jonathan&amp;apos;s concept of &amp;quot;organic software&amp;quot; where AI agents learn, adapt, and operate alongside teams, reducing complexity and transforming finance from a reporting function into a strategic intelligence layer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Jonathan shares real-world examples of AI agents managing company spend, monitoring compliance, automating finance workflows, and generating insights that would have been impossible just a few years ago.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The discussion also covers founder psychology, building through uncertainty, AI-first organisations, and how leadership teams must evolve in a world where software development, product design, and operations are increasingly powered by AI.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Topics Covered:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• Jonathan&amp;apos;s journey from finance and consulting into startups&lt;br/&gt;• Why founding a company is one of the hardest ways to create change&lt;br/&gt;• The concept of &amp;quot;organic software&amp;quot; and AI-native business tools&lt;br/&gt;• How AI agents learn from company behaviour and improve over time&lt;br/&gt;• Building finance software that tells stories instead of generating reports&lt;br/&gt;• Real-world examples of autonomous finance workflows&lt;br/&gt;• Why AI is changing the role of CFOs and finance teams&lt;br/&gt;• How Light uses AI internally across product, engineering, and operations&lt;br/&gt;• The rise of AI-first organisations and new ways of working&lt;br/&gt;• Founder resilience, stress, and the realities of building companies&lt;br/&gt;• Why software development is changing faster than most people realise&lt;br/&gt;• The future of business operations in an AI-native world&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a conversation about the next generation of software, the future of work, and what happens when AI becomes a true operating system for businesses.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

What happens when software adapts to humans, rather than humans adapting to software? In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James and Hector sit down with Jonathan Sanders, Founder &amp; CEO of Light, the AI-native finance platform redefining how businesses manage money. Jonathan's journey spans investment banking, consulting, Pleo, founding Juni, and now building Light. Along the way, he has developed a unique perspective on technology, AI, and what the next generation of business software wil...

The Future of Finance is AI-Native: Jonathan Sanders, CEO of Light, on Organic Software, AI Agents, and Rebuilding Business Finance

Steve Domin, Founder &amp; CEO of Duffel, the company rebuilding the infrastructure layer of the global travel industry.Duffel is taking on one of the most complex and outdated sectors, creating modern, developer-first APIs for flights, hotels, and more. Backed by investors including Index Ventures and Benchmark, the company has raised over $50M to transform how travel is bought and sold.Steve shares the journey of building Duffel from scratch, including:<ul><li> Why the travel industry is fundamentally broken </li><li> The insight that led to Duffel’s API-first approach </li><li> Building deep supply-side integrations with airlines and incumbents </li><li> Navigating COVID when travel demand dropped to zero </li><li> The painful reality of scaling, resetting, and rebuilding product-market fit </li><li> Where long-term defensibility comes from in complex infrastructure businesses </li></ul>We also explore:<ul><li> What makes companies like GoCardless “talent factories” </li><li> How AI is changing how modern engineering teams are built </li><li> The future of smaller, highly efficient companies </li><li> Steve’s view on the next generation of AI-native products </li></ul>This is a masterclass in persistence, infrastructure thinking, and building through uncertainty.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Steve Domin, Founder &amp;amp; CEO of Duffel, the company rebuilding the infrastructure layer of the global travel industry.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Duffel is taking on one of the most complex and outdated sectors, creating modern, developer-first APIs for flights, hotels, and more. Backed by investors including Index Ventures and Benchmark, the company has raised over $50M to transform how travel is bought and sold.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Steve shares the journey of building Duffel from scratch, including:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt; Why the travel industry is fundamentally broken &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; The insight that led to Duffel’s API-first approach &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; Building deep supply-side integrations with airlines and incumbents &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; Navigating COVID when travel demand dropped to zero &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; The painful reality of scaling, resetting, and rebuilding product-market fit &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; Where long-term defensibility comes from in complex infrastructure businesses &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;We also explore:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt; What makes companies like GoCardless “talent factories” &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; How AI is changing how modern engineering teams are built &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; The future of smaller, highly efficient companies &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; Steve’s view on the next generation of AI-native products &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a masterclass in persistence, infrastructure thinking, and building through uncertainty.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Steve Domin, Founder &amp; CEO of Duffel, the company rebuilding the infrastructure layer of the global travel industry. Duffel is taking on one of the most complex and outdated sectors, creating modern, developer-first APIs for flights, hotels, and more. Backed by investors including Index Ventures and Benchmark, the company has raised over $50M to transform how travel is bought and sold. Steve shares the journey of building Duffel from scratch, including:  Why the travel industry is fu...

Steve Domin, Founder & CEO @ Duffel – Rebuilding Travel Infrastructure, Surviving COVID, and the Future of API-First Companies

Mahdi Yahya, Founder and CEO of Ori, is now part of Radiant following its partnership with Brookfield.Mahdi is building at the centre of one of the most important shifts in technology: the global race to scale AI infrastructure.We cover:<ul><li> From telecoms to data centres: lessons from building infrastructure businesses from age 20 </li><li> Why Ori chose the harder path of building for a future that did not yet exist </li><li> What “AI infrastructure” actually means, from GPU clusters to orchestration software </li><li> The Radiant model: combining capital, power, compute and software into a single platform </li><li> Why AI is becoming sovereign infrastructure and what that means for governments </li><li> Where value will accrue in the AI stack across hardware, infrastructure and applications </li><li> The importance of vertical integration and marginal gains in a capital-intensive market </li><li> Two pivotal decisions that shaped the company, including early acquisition and moving into physical infrastructure </li><li> Founder resilience and the simple rule: stay alive </li></ul>Mahdi also shares his perspective on the next wave of AI companies, the opportunity in inference, and why robotics could be the next breakout category.This is a conversation about building at civilisational scale and what it takes to operate where technology, capital and infrastructure collide.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Mahdi Yahya, Founder and CEO of Ori, is now part of Radiant following its partnership with Brookfield.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mahdi is building at the centre of one of the most important shifts in technology: the global race to scale AI infrastructure.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We cover:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt; From telecoms to data centres: lessons from building infrastructure businesses from age 20 &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; Why Ori chose the harder path of building for a future that did not yet exist &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; What “AI infrastructure” actually means, from GPU clusters to orchestration software &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; The Radiant model: combining capital, power, compute and software into a single platform &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; Why AI is becoming sovereign infrastructure and what that means for governments &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; Where value will accrue in the AI stack across hardware, infrastructure and applications &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; The importance of vertical integration and marginal gains in a capital-intensive market &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; Two pivotal decisions that shaped the company, including early acquisition and moving into physical infrastructure &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; Founder resilience and the simple rule: stay alive &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mahdi also shares his perspective on the next wave of AI companies, the opportunity in inference, and why robotics could be the next breakout category.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a conversation about building at civilisational scale and what it takes to operate where technology, capital and infrastructure collide.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Mahdi Yahya, Founder and CEO of Ori, is now part of Radiant following its partnership with Brookfield. Mahdi is building at the centre of one of the most important shifts in technology: the global race to scale AI infrastructure. We cover:  From telecoms to data centres: lessons from building infrastructure businesses from age 20  Why Ori chose the harder path of building for a future that did not yet exist  What “AI infrastructure” actually means, from GPU clusters t...

Building the backbone of AI with Mahdi Yahya, Co-Founder @ Radiant on Compute, Power and the Future of Infrastructure

This week on Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by Charlotte Palmer, Vice President of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors.Charlotte sits on the other side of the table as an LP, backing emerging venture funds globally. In this episode, she lifts the lid on how LPs actually evaluate VCs, what really matters beyond headline performance, and why many GPs still get fundraising wrong.We cover:• How LPs really underwrite venture funds and why early DPI is often misunderstood • What matters more than performance in the early years of a fund • Why access and ownership drive returns more than anything else • The reality of backing emerging managers and why smaller funds win • Team dynamics, attribution, and how LPs assess partners under the hood • Why fewer funds are getting backed and what’s changed in the market • The shift in venture towards early-stage and how late-stage AI impacts LP strategy • Portfolio construction from an LP perspective and how diversification actually works • The role of co-investments and why LPs increasingly lean into them • How GPs can create urgency in fundraising and what actually cuts throughCharlotte also shares practical advice for GPs, including how to re-engage LPs, how to position a fund without strong DPI, and why most outreach fails to land.A clear, honest view from the LP side on what it takes to get backed and build a fund that lasts.

<description>&lt;p&gt;This week on Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by Charlotte Palmer, Vice President of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Charlotte sits on the other side of the table as an LP, backing emerging venture funds globally. In this episode, she lifts the lid on how LPs actually evaluate VCs, what really matters beyond headline performance, and why many GPs still get fundraising wrong.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We cover:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• How LPs &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; underwrite venture funds and why early DPI is often misunderstood&lt;br/&gt; • What matters more than performance in the early years of a fund&lt;br/&gt; • Why access and ownership drive returns more than anything else&lt;br/&gt; • The reality of backing emerging managers and why smaller funds win&lt;br/&gt; • Team dynamics, attribution, and how LPs assess partners under the hood&lt;br/&gt; • Why fewer funds are getting backed and what’s changed in the market&lt;br/&gt; • The shift in venture towards early-stage and how late-stage AI impacts LP strategy&lt;br/&gt; • Portfolio construction from an LP perspective and how diversification actually works&lt;br/&gt; • The role of co-investments and why LPs increasingly lean into them&lt;br/&gt; • How GPs can create urgency in fundraising and what actually cuts through&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Charlotte also shares practical advice for GPs, including how to re-engage LPs, how to position a fund without strong DPI, and why most outreach fails to land.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A clear, honest view from the LP side on what it takes to get backed and build a fund that lasts.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

This week on Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by Charlotte Palmer, Vice President of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors. Charlotte sits on the other side of the table as an LP, backing emerging venture funds globally. In this episode, she lifts the lid on how LPs actually evaluate VCs, what really matters beyond headline performance, and why many GPs still get fundraising wrong. We cover: • How LPs really underwrite venture funds and why early DPI is often misunderstood  • What matters m...

Charlotte Palmer, VP of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors on Backing Emerging Managers, Access, and Venture Fundraising

This week on Riding Unicorns, we welcome back Alan Chang, Founder and CEO of Fuse Energy.Since his last appearance, Fuse has scaled rapidly, reaching a $5B valuation and setting its sights on £1B ARR. In this episode, Alan breaks down what it really takes to build a full-stack energy company from scratch, and why solving energy is one of the hardest and most important challenges of our time.We cover:• Why lowering the cost of energy is a trillion-pound opportunity  • The reality of building in a deeply complex, regulated industry  • What it actually means to “buy the grid” and why it matters  • How Fuse has already reduced energy costs by 15%  • The next big product: plug-and-play solar and battery for every home  • Why time, not capital, is the biggest constraint in building a company  • Hiring world-class engineers and building a high-performance culture  • Lessons from Revolut and applying them to energy  • Why the best founders are obsessed with speed, not comfortAlan also shares his mindset as a founder, why he rarely looks back at achievements, and why he’s more convinced than ever that this problem can be solved.Clear thinking on how to build a generational company in one of the world’s most complex industries.

<description>&lt;p&gt;This week on Riding Unicorns, we welcome back Alan Chang, Founder and CEO of Fuse Energy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Since his last appearance, Fuse has scaled rapidly, reaching a $5B valuation and setting its sights on £1B ARR. In this episode, Alan breaks down what it really takes to build a full-stack energy company from scratch, and why solving energy is one of the hardest and most important challenges of our time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;We cover:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• Why lowering the cost of energy is a trillion-pound opportunity&lt;br/&gt; • The reality of building in a deeply complex, regulated industry&lt;br/&gt; • What it actually means to “buy the grid” and why it matters&lt;br/&gt; • How Fuse has already reduced energy costs by 15%&lt;br/&gt; • The next big product: plug-and-play solar and battery for every home&lt;br/&gt; • Why time, not capital, is the biggest constraint in building a company&lt;br/&gt; • Hiring world-class engineers and building a high-performance culture&lt;br/&gt; • Lessons from Revolut and applying them to energy&lt;br/&gt; • Why the best founders are obsessed with speed, not comfort&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Alan also shares his mindset as a founder, why he rarely looks back at achievements, and why he’s more convinced than ever that this problem can be solved.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Clear thinking on how to build a generational company in one of the world’s most complex industries.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

This week on Riding Unicorns, we welcome back Alan Chang, Founder and CEO of Fuse Energy. Since his last appearance, Fuse has scaled rapidly, reaching a $5B valuation and setting its sights on £1B ARR. In this episode, Alan breaks down what it really takes to build a full-stack energy company from scratch, and why solving energy is one of the hardest and most important challenges of our time. We cover: • Why lowering the cost of energy is a trillion-pound opportunity  • The reality of bu...

Inside Fuse Energy: Alan Chang on Building a $5B Energy Giant and Chasing £1B ARR

Riding Unicorns is a podcast featuring the world's best minds from venture and startups. Hosted by VCs James Pringle and Hector Mason, the show explores what it takes to build and back successful tech unicorns. Each episode features conversations with top founders, operators, and investors unpacking the strategies, challenges, and insights behind scaling category-defining companies. From fundraising and product-market fit to hiring, growth, and beyond, no topic is off-limits. Whether you're a founder, VC, angel investor, or just curious about the world of startups, you’ll find valuable takeaways in every episode.

Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

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