Startup Founder Story
After Decades in Banking, Anne Boden Started Over and Built Starling
Anne Boden’s Starling Bank journey: how an industry insider built a mobile bank, from its 2014 founding to early products and operating milestones.
Can a Specialist Beat the AI Giants? Inside Jarek Kutylowski’s DeepL
Discover how Jarek Kutylowski built DeepL in Cologne, turning specialist AI translation research into language tools for global business workflows.
Bad Movie Dubbing Inspired ElevenLabs. Two Polish Friends Built the Fix
How Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dąbkowski built ElevenLabs, connecting Polish roots, voice AI research, dubbing workflows, and responsible deployment.
No Studio, No Camera Crew: Victor Riparbelli’s Bet on Synthesia
Explore Victor Riparbelli’s Synthesia journey: building AI video software for business training, collaboration, localization, and responsible use.
Three Researchers, One Big AI Bet: Arthur Mensch and the Rise of Mistral
How Arthur Mensch and his co-founders built Mistral AI in France, connecting open models, efficient research, and enterprise AI deployment.
How Luis von Ahn Turned Language Learning Into a Daily Habit With Duolingo
The story of Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker’s Duolingo: accessible education, learning habits, a freemium model, and the journey to public markets.
The Paperwork Blocking Startup Deals Became Christina Cacioppo’s Vanta
Discover Christina Cacioppo’s journey building Vanta, from learning to code to automating compliance and helping startups demonstrate business trust.
Three Airbeds and a Leap of Faith: How Brian Chesky Built Airbnb
How Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk built Airbnb: early hosting, marketplace trust, expansion, and the lessons of the pandemic.
A Forgotten USB Drive Sparked Dropbox: Drew Houston’s Startup Story
Explore Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi’s Dropbox journey, from a forgotten USB drive to cloud collaboration, with practical lessons for founders.
He Bet His Savings on a Scheduling Link: How Tope Awotona Built Calendly
How Tope Awotona built Calendly from scheduling frustration: his background, early experiments, SaaS strategy, and lessons for startup founders.
