Darkest before the Dawn: A Tech Startup Journey with First Concepts
In this episode of Tech Startup Stories, Natalie Binns speaks with Polina Sali, co-founder and CPO of First Concepts, about building a product at the intersection of creativity, design, and artificial intelligence.
Polina shares her non-linear journey from architecture to startups, shaped by global disruption, experimentation across disciplines, and a deep curiosity about how creative and technical thinking can work together. The conversation explores how First Concepts is addressing the fragmentation of creative workflows by providing a centralised space for ideas, references, and execution.
The episode also examines how AI is being applied in a more intentional way, supporting rather than replacing creative work, and how founders can navigate uncertainty, financial pressure, and pivotal moments that redefine their path.
For founders, designers, and product builders, this episode offers valuable insight into building in emerging spaces, creating tools for creatives, and developing products that align with how people actually think and work.
Don't Underestimate the Power of Time: A Tech Startup Journey with GAIO Tech
In this episode of Tech Startup Stories, Natalie Binns speaks with Sophie Carr, founder and CEO of GAIO Tech, about building a startup in the rapidly evolving world of generative AI.
Sophie shares her journey from early-stage failures and pivoting away from an EdTech startup, to identifying a new opportunity in Generative AI Optimisation (GAIO). Drawing on her background in SEO and content strategy, she explains how brands can influence AI-generated responses and why this represents a fundamental shift in digital visibility.
The conversation explores the realities of startup building, including the importance of resilience, finding the right co-founder, and learning when to pivot based on market signals. Sophie also breaks down her approach to scaling, why focusing on fewer, high-quality clients can outperform rapid growth, and how building a product-led business requires a different mindset from service-based work.
This episode is ideal for founders, marketers, and operators interested in AI, SEO, and the practical challenges of building a tech startup from the ground up.
From Big Tech to Deep Tech: A Tech Startup Journey with PVML
In this episode of Tech Startup Stories, Natalie Binns speaks with Rina Galperin, CTO and co-founder of PVML, about the transition from big tech to building a deep-tech startup from scratch. Reena shares how a real privacy and compliance problem at Microsoft became the foundation for PVML, the early mistakes technical founders make by over-selling technology instead of pain, and how the team identified CIOs as their true buyers. The conversation explores co-founder dynamics, early hiring, the realities of deep-tech timelines, and the personal cost of building a startup in highly regulated industries.
Focusing on the Small Wins: A Tech Startup Story with PocketTrainer
In this episode of Tech Startup Stories, we speak with PocketTrainer founder Janos Laszlo about building a product rooted in real human behaviour. We explore why small wins matter more than big milestones, how early users shaped the product, and why staying close to the customer’s daily challenges became the foundation of PocketTrainer’s growth. A detailed look at how discipline, iteration and empathy can guide a bootstrapped startup forward.
The Reluctant Founder: A Tech Startup Story with Complyance
Richa Kaul never planned to be a founder, but when she spotted a gap in enterprise security compliance technology, everything changed. In this episode of Tech Startup Stories, the Complyance CEO shares how she raised funding like an American founder in the UK market, what it means to truly validate a product before scaling it, and why she waited three years before investing in marketing. From embedding herself in client processes to choosing investors based on people over prestige, Richa offers candid insights on building in a crowded cybersecurity space, navigating fundraising as a female founder, and why sometimes the best businesses start without a grand plan. If you've ever wondered whether to bootstrap or raise venture capital, how to stand out in competitive markets, or what it takes to walk the walk before talking the talk, this conversation delivers practical wisdom from someone who's living it.
Having the Energy for the Long Game: A Tech Startup Story with Adelan
“Having the Energy for the Long Game: A Tech Startup Story with Adelan” explores how Dr Michaela Kendall has led Adelan from fuel cell research to a scalable commercial business. The episode focuses on selecting the first market you can win, building a resilient supply chain, and standing up the first factory to hit price points that drive adoption. We discuss how to move from prototype economics to volume economics, how to frame customer value around total cost of ownership and reliability, and how to time demand generation so capacity can deliver. Dr Kendall shares funding realities for UK cleantech, the trade-offs between manufacturing in Britain and the United States, and the leadership habits that keep a deep tech company moving through long cycles. This conversation is practical for founders and operators in climate tech, energy, and industrial hardware who want clear guidance on turning science into repeatable value propositions, aligning operations and buyers to reduce unit cost, and scaling with financial discipline while staying close to the customer.