Tag: Venture Capital

What happens when you jump into entrepreneurship without a co-founder and without a safety net? Vijay Rajendran has done just that, and more. In this episode, he shares his journey from launching Hungry Globetrotter to leading digital innovation at global banks and advising hundreds of startups. We dig into the emotional weight of solo founding, the value of structured support, and why your “path to moat” matters more than having one on day one. Vijay also talks about his approach to hiring, staying in your zone of genius, and increasing your surface area for opportunity. Packed with practical wisdom and honest reflections, this one is for anyone building from zero to one. --- Episode Resources “The Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz (https://a.co/d/5sivXFO)  “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel (https://a.co/d/8q4Dut7)  “Venture Deals” by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (https://a.co/d/brj0OO0)  “How Will You Measure Your Life?” by Clayton Christensen (https://a.co/d/8l6kqb7)  “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss (https://a.co/d/ir3M1YX)  “The Funding Framework” by Vijay Rajendran (https://a.co/d/7szE3tu)  “The Illusion of Invincibility or Why Cannons > Moats” article by Vijay Rajendran (https://open.substack.com/pub/startupsystem/p/the-illusion-of-invincibility-or?r=1z3bi1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false) 

At just 25, Tom Williams launched his first lending business with $5,000, a dream, and a San Francisco office he secretly lived in. In this episode, Tom walks us through his unorthodox journey from boat-washing teenager to fintech founder, revealing the pivotal moments, early sacrifices, and bets that shaped his entrepreneurial path. He opens up about navigating failure, weathering the dot-com bust from inside Silicon Valley, and rebuilding from scratch to ultimately create a sustainable, values-driven business that’s thrived for over two decades. This is a story about resilience, conviction, and what it really takes to build a business from the ground up. --- Episode Resources “The Man in the Glass” by Anonymous (https://allpoetry.com/The-Man-in-the-Glass) “The Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt (https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/Culture-and-Society/Man-in-the-Arena.aspx)