Live Vibe Coaching with the LLM Pioneer Who Scaled Before ChatGPT | Will Manidis
Is your AI startup built to survive the next wave?In this episode of Agentic, Will Manidis, the co-founder of ScienceIO, shares how he built for resilience from day one developing LLMs for healthcare and the frameworks that helped him scale before the world caught up.He shares how local model training on office gaming PCs laid the unlikely foundation for ScienceIO’s reach across millions in digital health.We also discuss:• why OpenAI’s API continues to dominate Gemini• the hidden fragility behind $500M fast scaling AI companies• Will’s belief that founders must prove value before overbuilding for scaleNot often do you get to learn from someone who built an LLM before ChatGPT. Tune in now.If you’re in the early innings of building something in AI, especially if you’re figuring things out from first principles—click here, we'd love to hear from you.Connect with us here:1. Will Manidis- https://www.linkedin.com/in/willmanidis/ 2. George Bandarian- https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/ 3. Untapped Ventures- https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures/00:00 Trailer01:41 Introduction02:45 Thiel Fellow07:40 Pre-ChatGPT LLMs10:27 Biggest lessons12:37 Contrarian takes13:56 Difficult to sell15:59 First exit16:38 Getting world-class talents23:20 Risk mitigation strategy25:48 Defensibility and moats37:10 Basic MVP44:01 Q&A50:35 Outro
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The AI Platform That Could Launch 10,000 Startups | Woz
Most no-code tools give you an MVP. Woz wants to give you a business.On this episode of Agentic, I was joined by Ben Collins and Brad Eckert, co-founders of Woz, an AI platform that lets anyone build real, scalable web and mobile products with zero coding. Think Shopify, but for launching operational SaaS startups.If you’re in the early innings of building something in AI, especially if you’re figuring things out from first principles—let’s chat. Connect with us here:1. Woz: https://www.linkedin.com/company/withwoz/2. Ben Collins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bentcollins/3. Brad Eckert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chefeckert/4. George Bandarian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian5. Untapped Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventuresThey break down:• Why shipping your MVP is just 1% of the journey—and what the other 99% really looks like• The difference between vibe coding, AI engineering, and real startup durability• What they learned from going through Y Combinator (twice), taking 80+ investor meetings, and raising a breakout seed round.• Why automation means more software businesses and not fewer jobs00:00 Trailer01:07 Introduction02:29 Empowering entrepreneurs04:27 Woz's Vision10:32 Success stories13:38 The origin story15:27 AI code generation evolution17:29 Technical insights19:44 The Role of AI30:31 Job markets31:20 Entrepreneurial mindset shift32:56 Business building challenges34:54 Creating a successful platform37:45 Y Combinator experience43:41 Fundraising insights49:29 Advice for AI Entrepreneurs56:31 Closing
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Inside You.com’s Plan to Outthink Google and OpenAI
What happens when the former Chief Scientist at Salesforce builds a search engine for enterprises?In this episode, Richard Socher (CEO) and Bryan McCann (CTO) of You.com reveal how they’re reinventing enterprise search and agentic workflows with their latest product, Ari—a deep research assistant that goes far beyond fast facts.We explore:How You.com is going deeper than Google and faster than PerplexityWhy consumer LLMs aren’t enough for serious enterprise workHow a Stanford summer project led to one of the most important AI research breakthroughsWhere Socher and McCann see AGI actually emerging—and why simulation may be the next frontier00:00 Trailer01:56 Introduction03:41 Richard and Bryan's Meeting09:52 Foundations of search12:33 Deep research agent13:49 How You.com stands out16:03 Custom agents18:15 ARI use cases19:43 Going slow to go fast24:00 Models under the hood26:00 AGI workflows29:11 Adoption33:34 Complicated workflows36:45 AGI - are we there?46:20 How to compete as a startup53:32 Being right56:23 Outro
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Carta’s 2025 AI Funding & Equity Insights | Peter Walker
Everyone has opinions about founder equity, funding timelines, and valuations—but Peter Walker holds the data. In this special live Agentic session, I sat down with Peter, Head of Insights at Carta, to unpack what’s actually happening beneath the surface in early-stage AI startups. Peter’s team has a privileged vantage point—cap tables, valuations, and hiring data across 45,000 startups and 83% of U.S. unicorns. We explore:a common equity mistake that’s quietly killing fundraising chanceswhy AI founders are raising bigger rounds… and keeping more of their companieshow lean teams are pushing out serious ARR—and what that means for hiringthe valuation delta between AI and non-AI startups—and why that window may be closingIf you’re raising, hiring, or advising an AI startup in this market, this one’s for you.If you’re in the early innings of building something in AI, especially if you’re figuring things out from first principles—let’s chat. Connect with us here:Peter Walker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjameswalker/George Bandarian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/Untapped Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures00:00 Trailer01:26 Introduction02:44 Untapped Ventures08:39 Carta10:34 Early Equity25:05 Venture Context34:47 AI Story51:04 Questions54:48 Outro
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How Agentic AI is Rewiring Software, Brokers, and the Future
I brought Ben Collins of Woz and Dakotah Rice and Tushar Nair of Harper for a special episode of Agentic–our AGM!Ben’s Woz lets non-technical founders build scalable apps with no engineering team—think Shopify for software while Dakotah and Tushar’s Harper quotes 476 complex insurance deals with voice AI, turning family brokerage chaos into a data goldmine. On the docket:Harper’s logged-call advantage for scalable precisioncompute’s brewing storm (NVIDIA’s got rivals rising)how reasoning models cut months off build timesConnect with us: Ben Collins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bentcollins Dakotah Rice: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dakotahrice/ Tushar Nair: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tushar-nair-b08988222/ Woz: https://www.linkedin.com/company/withwoz/ Harper: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harperinsure/ George Bandarian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/ Untapped Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures00:00 Trailer02:06 Introduction02:20 Ben Collins04:02 Dakotah Rice04:37 Tushar Nair05:21 Agentic AI hot takes11:59 Deep dive on Woz17:05 Deep dive on Harper24:15 Y Combinator and the founders community28:21 Non-technical business side of software30:30 Agentic demand, Elon's Grok/xAI32:27 Outro
The Agentic Podcast, hosted by George Bandarian, General Partner & CEO at Untapped Ventures, leads deep discussions that uncover the untapped potential and breakthroughs of autonomous AI systems shaping the future.
Featuring insights from founders, investors, and industry leaders, we dive into the impact of Agentic AI on industry and society, breakthroughs in machine learning, the future of responsible AI, and the convergence of human and machine intelligence.
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