Founder Mode
Founder Mode
Podcast Description
Founder Mode is a podcast for builders—whether it’s startups, systems, or personal growth. It’s about finding your flow, balancing health, wealth, and productivity, and tackling challenges with focus and curiosity. Each week, you’ll gain actionable insights and fresh perspectives to help you think like a founder and build what matters most.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes of entrepreneurship, personal growth, and effective decision-making. Episodes cover topics like health management for founders, relationship maintenance during intense work periods, and creating opportunities through strategic risk-taking. For instance, Episode 1 discusses the concept that luck can be manufactured, while Episode 2 delves into the challenges of balancing health and hustle for entrepreneurs.

Founder Mode is a podcast for builders—whether it’s startups, systems, or personal growth. It’s about finding your flow, balancing health, wealth, and productivity, and tackling challenges with focus and curiosity. Each week, you’ll gain actionable insights and fresh perspectives to help you think like a founder and build what matters most.
EPISODE 39
Jonathan Sturgeon joins Founder Mode to explain how he built multiple eight-figure businesses without chasing an audience, a personal brand, or social media validation. He breaks down his deliberately anti-influencer posture, why cold calling still outperforms content for high-intent sales, and how his companies Dingus & Zazzy and Uh Oh scale through systems, scripts, and trust rather than hype. The conversation moves from trolling internet fame culture to designing a radically simple IT business with a free trial and pay-what-you-want pricing, and ends with Jonathan’s view that not every project needs to optimize for returns—some are worth doing because they’re fun.
CHAPTERS
00:00 – Building businesses without social media or an audience
03:45 – The anti-influencer mindset and trolling internet fame
11:45 – Cold calling, scripts, and why outbound still works
15:30 – Uh Oh: free-trial IT, pay-what-you-want pricing, and trust
24:00 – Art over profit and building businesses for enjoyment
LINKS
Connect with Jonathan Sturgeon
Uh Oh • Dingus & Zazzy • LinkedIn • X/Twitter
Stay Connected with Founder Mode
Connect with Kevin
Connect with Jason

Disclaimer
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