Startup advice is everywhere. Truly useful startup advice is harder to find.
That distinction is at the heart of Fund/Build/Scale, hosted by Walter Thompson. The podcast was created to give founders practical guidance they can use to navigate the messy realities of building a company. Drawing on his experience working in early-stage startups and as a journalist, Walter approaches each episode with a simple goal: to move beyond the headlines and founder mythology and uncover the specific decisions, strategies and lessons that can help entrepreneurs avoid mistakes and build more effectively.
The result is a roster of top-tier guests spanning media, entrepreneurship and venture capital, including Allie Garfinkle (Fortune), Julie Bornstein (Daydream), Rebecca Lynn (Canvas Prime), Tamara Steffens (Thomson Reuters Ventures), Alex Niehenke (Scale Venture Partners), and many more.
We sat down with Walter to discuss his approach to the podcast, what he’s learned from his guests and what it takes to create conversations that give listeners something they can actually put into practice.
You’ve worked both inside startups and in journalism—how has that combination shaped the way you approach podcasting?
Walter: When I worked at startups, I was skeptical about tech journalism. A lot of coverage focuses on charismatic founders, corporate narratives, and wealth. If you’re building a company from scratch, stories about eye-popping funding rounds, some CEO’s new superyacht or an investor’s take on vaccine policy don’t add much value to your day.
I have a service journalism approach when it comes to covering tech: sourcing authoritative information that can help people solve real problems. When I interview guests, I’m interrogating my own ignorance so I can better understand the topic at hand.
What sets Fund/Build/Scale apart from other founder-focused podcasts?
Walter: I created the show with the sole purpose of uncovering actionable advice that listeners can adapt and use to build their own companies. Guests don’t just share tactics and strategies — we revisit specific experiences, decisions and processes that helped them create the frameworks they used along the way.
My ICP is a listener who didn’t attend Stanford and didn’t have an undergrad professor who’s also an angel investor. They’re not in Silicon Valley, but they want a better understanding of how people build here, because we’re still a model for the rest of the world. Many of them are trying to pattern-match their way to success based on tech coverage, but a lot of Bay Area tropes and behavior don’t travel well. In that sense, the show is partly a fit check for which ideas travel and which ones don’t.
How do you approach balancing evergreen startup lessons with covering what’s happening in tech right now?
Walter: The show is narrowly focused on early-stage tactics and strategies, so it’s not trend-driven, but it is timely. For example, I’ve released episodes that help listeners understand how to participate in the secondary market, cope with the possibility of layoffs and navigate the H-1B visa process.
What’s the biggest mistake people make when pitching themselves for the podcast?
Walter: I get a surprising number of copy-and-paste pitches that suggest the writer hasn’t taken the time to look at a few past episode descriptions to get a sense of what the show is about.
What’s a conversation you haven’t had on Fund/Build/Scale yet that you really want to have?
Walter: I’d like to talk to a couple of founders who made the decision to shut down their companies.
Startup coverage spends a lot of time examining how companies start and grow, but when it comes to sunsetting, there’s a lot less practical information about how to recognize when the evidence has changed, decide when to turn off the lights, and wind something down responsibly.
What separates a great podcast guest from a good one?
Walter: A great guest doesn’t just come prepared to talk; they’re looking for a conversation.
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We sat down with Walter Thompson, host of Fund/Build/Scale Podcast, to discuss his approach to the podcast, what he’s learned from his guests and what it takes to create conversations that give listeners something they can actually put into practice.