Founders in Motion
Founders in Motion
Podcast Description
Big wins, brutal lessons, and everything in between—straight from early-stage founders in the thick of it. No fluff, just raw, unfiltered stories of building bold ideas from the ground up. Hosted by Thea Ngo, this series keeps it real while it’s all still happening.
New episodes every other Thursday. Get connected to the community @foundersinmotion
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers themes such as startup challenges, fundraising, and business resilience, including episodes like 'From Idea to $800K Pre-Seed Funding' and 'Turning Scrap Into Product,' focusing on the realities of building a startup in various industries.
Unfiltered conversations with early-stage founders who are actually building it – from Sydney to San Francisco.
Hosted by Thea Ngo (Wharton grad, early-stage investor), this is where founders talk about what really happens: the fundraising rejections, hiring mistakes, pivots that worked, and mental health struggles nobody posts on LinkedIn.
Plus tactical job hunting content for breaking into startups and VC.
No hype. No polished narratives. Just what actually works.
New episodes every Thursday.
Celeste Amadon left Stanford, cancelled her job offers, and raised her seed round in four days before Known had a single paying user. Her thesis: dating apps aren't broken by accident. They're engineered to keep you swiping, paying, and single.
We talk about the loneliness epidemic and why it's already your problem too, how Known uses voice inference to understand personality beyond what you say, the business model flipping dating on its head, and what it took to raise from Forerunner as a 21-year-old first-time founder.
For: founders building consumer products, anyone exhausted by dating apps, operators thinking about AI and matching problems, people considering leaving school to build.
CHAPTERS
0:00 – Intro & Cold Open
1:13 – Meet Celeste
4:33 – Dating Is a Political Problem
6:50 – Seed Round in 4 Days
8:05 – Pitching Forerunner at 21
11:34 – Why Apps Keep You Single
16:36 – Leaving Stanford
22:13 – The Marina Green Moment
FOLLOW US
https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps
https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion
https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/
ABOUT FOUNDERS IN MOTION
Founders In Motion brings you honest, tactical conversations with early-stage founders building companies from the ground up. Hosted by Thea Ngo, the show goes beyond the headlines to reveal the real decisions, trade-offs, and mechanics behind building startups. Past guests include founders from YC-backed companies, edtech leaders, SaaS operators, and global entrepreneurs.
Subscribe for the insider playbook on building companies, growth tactics, and founder stories.
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.