The Undefeated Underdogs
The Undefeated Underdogs

The Undefeated Underdogs

Sharath Kuruganty

Overview
Episodes

Details

The Undefeated Underdogs is a podcast unpacking the underdog stories you never heard of! It highlights the underdog mentality and brings authentic conversations with people who play the long game, take action with a chip on their shoulders, and convert obstacles into opportunities! Buckle up, as I will be bringing some authentic founders, VCs, community builders, and content creators who got underestimated their whole life, and yet they beat the odds and became insanely successful!

Recent Episodes

Founders of Defang - Building the easiest way to develop, deploy and debug cloud apps in minutes!
DEC 11, 2024
Founders of Defang - Building the easiest way to develop, deploy and debug cloud apps in minutes!

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Guests:

Prakash and Lionello are the co-founders of Defang, a radically simpler way to develop, deploy, and debug production-ready cloud apps.Β 

Lionello is CTO at Defang, as well as an engineering lead and community organizer with EE and CS background and 20 years of international industry experience doing software and hardware. He has lived in Eindhoven, Bucharest, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and recently moved to Vancouver BC. In 1997, he founded a virtual-reality software company, acquired by a multinational company for their real-time 3D rendering technology. In 2019, Workday acquired Trusted Key, the blockchain digital identity startup he helped found. Lio is active in the local maker communities, having been a staff member in China's first makerspace Xinchejian since its founding.Β 

Prakash serves as CEO at Defang. He co-founded & served as Chief Technology Officer, President & Board Member at Trusted Key Solutions. He brings experience from previous roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Workday, and Trusted Key.Β 


πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product
Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/


πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Description:

Listen in as Sharath, Prakash, and Lio discuss building for builders, how frustration helped them create Defang, growth tactics, and more!
Β 
πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Timestamps:

  • 00:00: Episode Highlight
  • 00:44: Shoutout to Acquire.com
  • 03:10: Intro to Lio and Prakash - co-founders of Defang, a radically simpler way to develop, deploy, and debug production-ready cloud apps.Β 
  • 05:29: Why Defang's mission is to help builders move faster
  • 09:19: How frustration led to building Defang
  • 15:01: Why big brands like AWS don't focus on builders
  • 17:02: How to go from idea to MVP for a complex product
  • 23:09: How Defang launched in the market and iterated using feedback
  • 28:40: Defang's growth tactics to reach users
  • 32:33: What made Prakash go from being a technical and engineering lead to a CEO?
  • 34:55: Defang's Product Hunt launch
  • 38:10: How Defang harnesses the power of AI
  • 44:22: How to differentiate yourself from the competition
  • 48:00: Important lessons from corporate and startups
  • 50:56: Where is the app-creating environment going?
  • 53:55: Outro and closing thoughts

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Resources:

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Defang:

  • Product Hunt Launch: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/defang
  • Website: https://defang.io
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/defanglabs/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/DefangLabs
  • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DefangLabs
  • Discord: https://discord.com/invite/nNjaJcJ25v
  • Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DefangLabs/
  • Github: https://github.com/DefangLabs

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Prakash:

  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prakashsundaresan/

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Lio:

  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lionello/
  • Twitter: https://x.com/LioLunesu

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Sharath:

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54 MIN
Brett Goldstein - How Micro is reinventing email and making it great again!
DEC 5, 2024
Brett Goldstein - How Micro is reinventing email and making it great again!

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Guest:

Brett Goldstein is the founder of Micro, an email-CRM blend so you can stay on top of your communications. He is also the co-founder of Launch House, which is a community built to connect and support the world's most ambitious entrepreneurs and creators. Launch House brings together emerging leaders in the startup and entertainment worlds to live in illustrious mansions around the world. Previously, he worked at Clearbit, Google, and Accenture, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.


πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product
Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/



πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Brett discuss building in a crowded market, the origin of Launch House, blending ambition and relationships, and more!
Β 
πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Timestamps:

  • 00:00: Episode Highlight
  • 00:42: Shoutout to Acquire.com
  • 03:09: Intro to Brett Goldstein - founder of Micro, an email-CRM blend so you can stay on top of your communications.
  • 04:33: Where Brett found his passion for startups
  • 08:40: What inspires Brett to create?
  • 10:10: Brett's first projects before Google
  • 12:14: Why Brett chose startups and not music as a career
  • 16:22: How Launch House turned from a reality show to a hacker house
  • 20:28: How Brett went from a random tweet to building a network of founders at Launch House
  • 22:43: How Brett pushes founders towards ambition AND relationship-building
  • 25:20: How Brett took advantage of the crypto wave
  • 27:59: What do most founders miss really easily?
  • 33:02: Why Brett is choosing to reinvent email
  • 40:12: How to avoid the downsides of a crowded market
  • 43:01: Why Micro is creating an email-CRM blend
  • 48:30: The problem-solving frameworks Brett used to build Micro
  • 50:15: Brett's criteria for finding cofounders
  • 52:43: Brett's cheatsheet to building a network in tech
  • 54:30: How will AI impact the rise of startups and creative projects?
  • 58:30: What Brett would build if not Micro
  • 1:00:03: Outro and closing thoughts

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Resources:

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Brett:

  • Micro: https://www.micro.so/
  • Launch House: https://www.launchhouse.com/
  • Twitter: https://x.com/thatguybg
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bgoldstein3/
  • Website: brettgoldstein.com
  • Newsletter: https://socialstudies.substack.com/

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Sharath:

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60 MIN
Chrys Bader - A masterclass on the art of building viral consumer apps for the Internet!
NOV 27, 2024
Chrys Bader - A masterclass on the art of building viral consumer apps for the Internet!

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Guest:

Chrys is the co-founder at Rosebud, an AI-powered personal growth journal. He is a 6-time founder, founding Curio NFT Intelligence, Ikaria (social wellness), and Secret (social media). Prior to Secret, Chrys was a Product Manager at Google where he launched the photo-sharing community Photovine and contributed to Google+ and YouTube. He has built and launched several mobile social products such as Fliggo, TwitVid, Vidly and Treehouse. Chrys was born and raised near Boston and is a Y Combinator alumni.


πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product
Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/



πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Chrys discuss building in a saturated market, using AI as a thought partner, designing original apps, and more!
Β 
πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Timestamps:

  • 00:00: Episode Highlight
  • 00:45: Shoutout to Acquire.com
  • 03:11: Intro to Chrys Bader - co-founder at Rosebud, an AI-powered personal growth journal
  • 07:07: The experience of building a consumer app in mental health
  • 11:14: How is Rosebud different from other AI companionship apps?
  • 15:43: Where Chrys' love for mobile apps comes from
  • 21:45: Why Chrys prefers building for consumers
  • 25:43: Chrys' design inspiration for Rosebud
  • 30:16: Building Rosebud as a designer and as a founder
  • 33:10: How Chrys refuels himself after hard times in startup world
  • 47:43: Chrys' advice for founders building consumer ideas and consumer apps
  • 56:12: Fundraising vs bootstrapping in 2024
  • 1:01:49: How Y Combinator changed Chrys as a founder and why he didn't go back
  • 1:05:45: How Chrys went from social wellness to photo sharing to mental health apps as a founder
  • 1:08:12: Rosebud's AI origin story
  • 1:10:35: Where Rosebud is going next
  • 1:14:42: Outro and closing thoughts

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Resources:

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Chrys:

  • Rosebud: https://help.rosebud.app/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrysb
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrysb
  • Website: https://chrysbader.com/

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Sharath:

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75 MIN
Charlie Clark - How a solo founder took a side project from an idea to $300k+ ARR product!
NOV 14, 2024
Charlie Clark - How a solo founder took a side project from an idea to $300k+ ARR product!

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Guest:

Charlie Clark is a software engineer, creative coder, & bootstrapped founder who has grown his short links product, Liinks, to $25K MRR just 3 years after it officially launched.


πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product
Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/



πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Charlie discuss being a bootstrapped founder, building in a saturated market, making your side project a full time job, and more!
Β 
πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Timestamps:

  • 00:00: Episode Highlight
  • 00:35: Shoutout to Acquire.com
  • 03:01: Intro to Charlie Clark - founder of Liinks, a beautiful link-in-bio page to gather your socials, music, videos, and more
  • 04:52: Why is Liinks spelled with two ii's?
  • 05:28: Why short links are better
  • 07:35: Why Charlie set $25K MRR as a target to quit his full-time job
  • 11:07: How Charlie designed Liinks to be clean, yet fun
  • 15:41: How to convince people to buy your product
  • 20:35: Learnings as a second-time founder
  • 22:45: Why Liinks: Building in a saturated market
  • 27:20: How to know if you want to commit to your project full-time
  • 30:51: How to market in a saturated market
  • 36:25: How to make creator-led products profitable
  • 40:20: How Charlie made Liinks aesthetically pleasingΒ 
  • 43:45: How working at Squarespace helped Liinks grow
  • 48:45: Frameworks Charlie uses for growth, design, and user retention
  • 50:10: How to balance user requests vs your own roadmap?
  • 53:51: How will AI impact the future of Liinks?
  • 58:08: Why Charlie chose the solo founder route
  • 1:00:55: Why Charlie bootstrapped Liinks vs raising venture capital
  • 1:02:53: Outro and closing thoughts

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Resources:

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Charlie:

  • Liinks: https://www.liinks.co/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/clarkcharlie03
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarkcharlie03
  • vsual: https://www.vsual.co/closing
  • Emoji Book: http://emojibook.club/
  • Colors of Motion: https://thecolorsofmotion.com/

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Sharath:

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63 MIN
Zachary Hamed - How using AI and design thinking made Clay the next generation rolodex!
NOV 6, 2024
Zachary Hamed - How using AI and design thinking made Clay the next generation rolodex!

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Guest:

Zach Hamed is a design-focused engineer who enjoys designing, building, and selling software. He is currently co-founder and co-CEO of Clay, a beautiful and private home for your personal and professional relationships. Previously, he helped build the product team at Goldman Sachs, co-founded a startup in the enterprise developer tools space, and writes blog posts.

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product
Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product, GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/



πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Zach discuss going from a startup to corporate and back to startups, identifying A players, design thinking, and more!
Β 
πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Timestamps:

  • 00:00: Episode Highlight
  • 00:30: Shoutout to Acquire.com
  • 02:56: Intro to Zachary Hamed - co-founder at Clay, a beautiful personal CRM, contact manager, and rolodex for people across industries who want to be more thoughtful with the people they know
  • 05:35: Why Zach is building a startup in NYC vs Silicon Valley
  • 10:38: Zach's experience going through the Thiel Fellowship
  • 13:29: Going from building a startup to working at a large corporate
  • 19:51: A process at Goldman Sachs that serves Zachary well today
  • 25:15: Growth frameworks for Clay
  • 33:53: How to spot and hire talent smarter than you
  • 40:40: How to find A players
  • 46:30: Why does Clay use .earth for their domain?
  • 49:55: Why Zachary pursued a consumer-first approach
  • 57:50: How AI is revolutionizing Clay's people-first approach
  • 1:03:45: Using AI in Clay to catch up and schedule follow-ups
  • 1:09:25: How Zach is building Clay using design thinking
  • 1:17:35: Outro and closing thoughts

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Resources:

  • Link to Acquire.com: https://try.acquire.com/sharath/
  • Sparrow: https://sparrow.en.softonic.com/mac
  • Mailbox: https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9873268/why-dropbox-mailbox-shutdown
  • Thiel Fellowship: https://thielfellowship.org/

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Zachary:

  • Website: https://zmh.org/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/zmh
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyhamed
  • Clay: https://clay.earth/

πŸ‘‰πŸΌ Where to find Sharath:

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78 MIN