What if the reason so many startups fail has less to do with bad ideas and more to do with skipping the hard but necessary stages of building? In this episode of Startup Builders & Backers, I’m joined by Gregory Shepard, founder of Startup Science and author of The Startup Lifecycle, a book grounded in five years of research and 5,800 pages of data on why startups win or don’t.

Gregory breaks down a new way of thinking about startup growth, one that goes far beyond the usual "idea to IPO" narrative. He introduces his seven-stage startup lifecycle and explains why standardization and optimization, two stages many founders overlook are essential for building something scalable and resilient. Instead of rushing from product to growth, Gregory encourages founders to take time to strengthen operations and margins first.

We also explore the common missteps that lead to early failure, from premature scaling and hiring flashy executives too soon to misunderstanding capital needs and overinflating valuations. Gregory’s guidance is blunt but clear: get the fundamentals right early, or risk building something unsustainable.

Beyond the book, Gregory has created the Startup Science platform, designed as a single entry point for founders to access everything from mentors and grants to classes and investor connections. It's a full-stack resource for entrepreneurs who want to go beyond theory and embed startup best practices into real workflows.

Gregory also shares his take on the current funding environment, why downturns are often the best time to start something new, and how resilience when engineered through structure, not just grit can turn tough times into defining moments.

Whether you’re building your first product or wrestling with scale, this is an episode that strips away the noise and offers a blueprint for what actually works.

Explore more at GregoryShepard.com and StartupScience.io.

What does it take to turn a bold idea into a billion-dollar company during one of the most unpredictable periods in recent history? In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers, we meet Avery Pennarun, Co-founder and CEO of Tailscale, who shares how a lean networking startup found its stride in the middle of a global pandemic and reshaped expectations for what secure connectivity can look like.

Before founding Tailscale in 2019, Avery had already built and sold a company to IBM, worked closely with senior leadership at Alphabet, and led engineering efforts at Google Fiber. His experience spans both massive tech enterprises and nimble, founder-led ventures. But Tailscale may be his most ambitious project yet. Designed to simplify secure networking, Tailscale removes the complexity and frustration that usually accompany corporate VPN setups, making it easier for teams of all sizes to connect devices across locations—without expensive infrastructure or weeks of onboarding.

As remote work surged and companies scrambled to secure distributed teams, Tailscale quietly gained traction. By delivering speed, usability, and compatibility with existing tools, the startup found its audience. In 2023, VentureBeat named it one of the top zero-trust startups to watch, and earlier this year, the team launched an enterprise-ready zero-trust VPN that’s already drawing attention from major customers.

In this conversation, Avery opens up about the personal and strategic decisions behind Tailscale’s rise. He reflects on product-market fit, the importance of saying no to unnecessary complexity, and how the team remained focused under pressure. For anyone building in the infrastructure or security space, this is a rare look behind the curtain.

We also zoom out to examine the growing interest in zero-trust security models. While the term often gets thrown around in sales decks and funding pitches, Avery provides clarity on what it really means, how Tailscale approaches it, and why simplicity is often the most powerful form of security.

From scaling smart to staying grounded, Avery’s story is one that early-stage founders and first-time builders will find relatable and energizing. It’s proof that you don’t need a huge team or deep pockets to build something impactful—you just need to solve a real problem better than anyone else.

If you're building in public, navigating investor conversations, or sketching out your MVP, this episode offers both perspective and encouragement. Where could simplicity take your startup?

What does it mean to truly invest in a tech startup? In this episode, we explore that question with Frederic Joye, co-founder of Arcanys and partner at Arcanys Ventures. With a career that took him from the Swiss finance sector to the beaches of the Philippines, Frederic shares a philosophy that reshapes how we think about startup funding. For him, capital is only part of the equation. Real investment means giving startups access to seasoned engineers, technical mentorship, and operational insight.

We unpack Frederic’s unique journey into entrepreneurship—leaving a conventional career behind for the chaotic thrill of building tech companies in emerging markets. He discusses how Arcanys has become a launchpad for early-stage SaaS businesses, offering more than cash by embedding engineering talent directly into the startup's development process.

You'll hear Frederic’s perspective on what makes a startup truly investable: strong, experienced teams, early traction, and smart use of limited funds. He also reflects on the evolution of distributed software development, revealing how startups can tap into global talent while maintaining cohesion and speed.

Whether you're a founder looking for smart capital or a tech leader navigating distributed teams, this episode is packed with candid insights on sustainable growth, building resilient teams, and staying agile in a fast-changing tech environment.

What role should investors play beyond the wire transfer? And how can tech leaders use distributed talent to outpace competitors? Let’s find out.