Hello everyone and welcome to a special year-end episode of Off To The Valley! I'm your host, Prateek Panda, and before we wrap up the year, we're hitting pause to look back on a season that broke patterns and reminded us why we started.
We revisit game-changing insights, from Peter Loving's essential advice on design to Yang Cheung's strategy of generating revenue pre-product. Hear again why you should "focus on your personal brand" as a new entrepreneur (Nida Ateeq) and why you should always find a network of the kind of people you're trying to become (Arjita Sethi).
And as we head into 2026, Prateek shares an exclusive look at Season 3 where we will dive deep into the stories behind every founder's first $1 Million in ARR - the chase, the chaos, and the clarity.
Thank you for tuning in. Until then, stay curious, and keep chasing the stories that move you!
Are you struggling to hit the $1M ARR mark because your customer growth is constantly offset by high churn? You have a leaky bucket, and that's a problem we're solving today!
I’m joined by the incredible Anika Zubair, a former immigrant to Europe and a global Customer Success leader, to discuss the critical shift founders need to make. We tackle the common misunderstanding that Customer Success is just support, not a revenue engine.
Listen to this episode and learn:
When Hila Lauterbach moved from Israel to the U.S. with a six-week-old baby, she didn’t have an office, a network, or a roadmap. For months, her desk was a restroom at a small restaurant, and from that space, she built teams, launched startups, and led go-to-market strategy for some of the most exciting SaaS companies in tech.
Today, Hila is the Co-Founder of 10XGTM, a consultancy that helps high-growth startups find their voice, scale their revenue, and navigate the fast-changing world of AI and SaaS. She’s also a global advocate for women and immigrant founders through her work with Femigrants, driving awareness and opportunity in an industry where less than 2% of funding reaches female-led startups.
In this episode, Hila opens up about the real story behind the highlight reel, the failures, the reinvention, and the lessons she’s learned while helping companies grow from zero to multimillion-dollar ARR. She also breaks down her 5A GTM framework, explains what most founders get wrong about scaling, and shares how she’s helping redefine what success looks like in Silicon Valley.
It’s raw, inspiring, and packed with practical lessons for founders, leaders, and anyone carving their own path.
When Sophie Alcorn was a shy little girl in Southern California, she would follow her father, an immigration lawyer, to his office on Saturdays. If she managed to send a fax correctly to the INS, she’d earn a sugar cube as a reward. That small ritual planted the seeds of what would become her life’s calling.
Years later, after resisting the path of “becoming just like dad,” Sophie returned to immigration law on her own terms. Today, she’s one of the most trusted voices guiding international founders through the complexities of building companies in the United States. She’s written for TechCrunch, hosts her own podcast, and has built a practice that has helped countless entrepreneurs secure visas and bring their ideas to life.
In this conversation, Sophie shares her journey from bookworm to advocate, why U.S. policy still lags in supporting immigrant founders, and how options like the O-1 and H-1B are shaping the future of global entrepreneurship. She also opens up about the emotional toll of navigating “extraordinary ability” visas, the myths that waste founders’ time, and what the U.S. stands to lose without a real startup visa.
It’s part story, part guide, and part call to action, a must-listen for any founder dreaming of scaling their vision on American soil.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Jane Fisher, journalist-turned-founder of imii, an AI-powered platform helping immigrants navigate life in a new country. Jane’s story is one of resilience, identity, and building with purpose.
Born in Japan to parents from the USSR, Jane grew up as a classic third-culture kid, never fully belonging anywhere. That experience, combined with her own struggles moving across countries, sparked the idea for Immi. What started as a B2C concept has now grown into a bold B2B and B2G vision: digitizing the fragmented support systems for immigrants and making integration simpler, faster, and more human.
Jane shares how she built not one, but two MVPs, on just $10,000, with a part-time team working for equity. She opens up about the realities of early-stage entrepreneurship, from consulting on the side to extend runway, to balancing burnout, therapy, and meditation as part of her founder’s toolkit.
We also delve into the bigger picture: why she believes LinkedIn is a founder’s most underrated sales tool, how brutal honesty online has helped her generate leads, and what it really takes to connect the dots when resources are scarce.
It’s an inspiring and brutally candid conversation about identity, purpose, and building solutions that matter.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Sasha Yablonovsky, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Loanspark and former President at CareerBuilder, to unpack her extraordinary journey from immigrant beginnings to building a fintech that’s reshaping small business lending.
Sasha shares how Loanspark went revenue positive in under 24 months with a lean team of just 20 hires, proving that speed and focus can matter more than raising millions. We talk about:
→ The mindset shift from corporate executive to startup founder
→ Lessons from being a woman in tech in the 90s, and how she turned skepticism into strength
→ Why hiring the right people can make or break an early-stage company
→ How Loanspark’s embedded lending model is changing access to capital for SMBs, from equipment financing to real estate
→ The role of AI in speeding up approvals and underwriting in commercial lending
→ How founders can avoid “yes syndrome” by innovating with purpose and learning to say no
Packed with hard-won insights, candid reflections, and actionable takeaways, this conversation is a must-listen for founders, fintech operators, and anyone navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurship.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Evan Burkosky, Co-Founder & CEO of Kimaru.ai, to explore his extraordinary journey, from growing up on Vancouver Island and working summers on his family’s fishing boat, to spending over two decades building businesses in Japan.
I share in Evan’s reflections as he talks about how an early dream of importing Canadian seafood to Japan transformed into a career leading market entries for global SaaS platforms, and now, building a company that’s revolutionizing supply chain decision-making with AI.
In our conversation, Evan opens up about:
→ The realities of being an entrepreneur in Japan—cultural nuances, relationship-driven sales, and the growing startup ecosystem.
→ How Kimaru’s decision intelligence platform augments human judgment instead of replacing it, using AI to speed up and improve supply chain decisions worldwide.
→ Why a “human in the loop” circuit breaker is essential in AI systems.
→ Lessons from expanding from Japan into the U.S. market, including how to adapt to “Silicon Valley speed.”
→ His thoughts on mental health for founders and the importance of asking for help.
→ The emerging field of decision intelligence and why it’s a trend to watch over the next five years.
This episode is packed with hard-earned insights for entrepreneurs, AI enthusiasts, and anyone navigating global business.
Yang Cheung turned her kid’s doodle into a business idea, and it’s now helping children become creators, earn royalties, and build confidence through their art.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, Yang shares the journey behind PixyIt, a platform where children’s artwork is transformed into products like t-shirts, mugs, and more. But it’s more than just a feel-good story. This is a real startup, with traction, tech, and a purpose-driven model.
We dive into:
→ How an innocent lobster sketch sparked the idea
→ The lessons Yang learned from early failures in NFTs and online galleries
→ Why she focused on validation before building a full MVP
→ The blend of AI and human curation behind PixyIt’s product
→ What it’s like building as a parent, an immigrant, and a founder
If you’re building for consumers, purpose, or both, this episode is full of insight for you!
Joseph Lee started his entrepreneurial journey at 15, flipping electronics on Craigslist to fund his education. Today, he’s the founder and CEO of Supademo, a fast-growing platform that’s transforming how teams create interactive product demos.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, Joseph shares how he went from dropping out of university to launching Supademo and landing over 2,000 users in the first five months. We unpack:
We also delve into his decision-making process, hiring practices, and his perspective on the Canadian startup ecosystem.
Whether you’re early in your founder journey or scaling your second startup, this episode offers grounded insights from someone who’s building with heart, clarity, and conviction.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Nida Ateeq, founder and CMO of Anagar Media, a marketing agency that helps B2B companies transition from brand confusion to pipeline clarity.
Nida shares her journey of moving from India to Canada, launching a business in a new country, and landing her first clients through trust, community, and personal branding. She unpacks how she built a thriving referral engine, her top AI tools for scaling B2B marketing, and the mindset shifts required to grow without burning out.
You’ll hear practical insights on:
Whether you’re a founder, freelancer, or marketer, this episode will leave you with playbooks you can start using today.
What happens after the visa gets approved?
In this episode of Off To The Valley, I sit down with Nino Melikidze, co-founder and CEO of Immitracker, to talk about the invisible side of immigration, the identity shifts, career resets, and emotional weight that don’t make it onto official paperwork.
Nino shares what it felt like to start over in Canada, how long it really takes to feel at home, and why she created a product that helps thousands of immigrants navigate that transition.
We talk about:
✔ Moving between countries and cultures
✔ Building Immitracker from personal experience
✔ The emotional math behind product-market fit
✔ B2C vs B2B as a solo founder
✔ What she’d do differently if she started today
This is an episode for anyone who’s ever had to start from scratch and wants to build something meaningful in the process.
What do you do when customers ask for the wrong things?
Toni Hopponen, founder of LandingRabbit and previously Flockler (acquired in 2023), joins Off To The Valley to unpack what 13 years of bootstrapped SaaS taught him.
From building a self-serve product without a sales team to decoding landing pages that actually convert, Toni shares real, hard-earned lessons about customer interviews, product intuition, and why founder-led growth has its limits.
We also talk:
It’s a masterclass in staying lean, staying curious, and building for real people.
Tune in if you’re thinking about bootstrapping, validating an idea, or designing a product customers will actually pay for.
From one rupee rentals to building Goldcast, Palash Soni’s founder story is as real as it gets.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, Palash, Co-founder and CEO of Goldcast, walks us through his early entrepreneurial sparks in a small Indian town, launching a side hustle at age 10, and eventually founding a VC-backed SaaS company out of Harvard.
We talk about:
This is a no-fluff, honest look at what it takes to go from ambitious experiments to building a company that brands like Mailchimp and Zuora trust.
If you’re thinking of launching, pivoting, or scaling something of your own, this one’s a must-listen.
In this episode of Off To The Valley, Aashni Shah, founder and CEO of HypeDocs, opens up about hitting a breaking point and what it took to rebuild with more clarity, purpose, and joy.
From navigating a tough pivot, shutting down a version of her product, and questioning everything, to rediscovering her spark through a completely new approach, this is a raw and real look at what it actually feels like to be a founder.
We dive into:
Whether you’re an early-stage builder, a solo founder, or someone figuring out their next move, this one’s going to stay with you.
What does it really take to build something from scratch in a new country, without a blueprint or a safety net?
In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Sneha Saigal, founder and CEO of Geeks and Experts, to discuss building a startup as an immigrant, navigating the hidden pressures of PR, and the often-overlooked art of knowing when to pivot.
We dive into:
1. Why pivoting doesn’t need to feel like failure
2. How to build real relationships with journalists
3. The untapped ROI of podcasts and community-led PR
4. Running a lean, vertical marketplace in a noisy industry
5. And what it means to build with curiosity and conviction
Sneha also shares raw lessons from the low points, how she learned to trust her instincts, and what founders should really focus on when everything feels uncertain.
Whether you’re early in your startup journey or just trying to find your voice in a crowded market, there’s something here for you.
In this episode, I sit down with Gorish Aggarwal, co-founder of Sybill, an AI-powered platform that helps sales teams have more authentic conversations and close deals more effectively. Gorish shares why he thinks of Sybill as the therapist salespeople didn’t know they needed, how they are standing out in a crowded AI space, and what it really means to build product-led.
We also talk about the emotional ups and downs of the founder journey, staying grounded through it all, and why initiatives like Humans of Sales matter in a world that is increasingly driven by metrics.
If you are building in AI, selling to enterprise, or just curious about how empathy fits into automation, this one is worth a listen.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, I sit down with Bob Moesta, innovator, entrepreneur, and co-creator of the groundbreaking Jobs to Be Done framework, which is trusted by companies like Apple, Intercom, and GitLab.
Bob shares incredible stories, including how breaking both legs as a child led him to uncover his superpower, why customers lie (and how founders can discover the truth), and the secret behind Intercom’s growth from $5M to $75M in just 18 months.
We also dive deep into Bob’s latest book, Job Moves, discussing why people really switch jobs—and how to finally find work that feels effortless.
This episode is packed with practical advice and powerful lessons that will change your perspective on innovation, hiring, consumer behavior, and building products people genuinely want.
Tune in, challenge the norm, and discover how to build what your customers actually need.
You Are Not Your Startup! And Other Hard-Won Lessons from Shruti Kapoor
What happens when an investment banker turns tech entrepreneur, builds a sales enablement platform, gets into Y Combinator, and then sells her company to an industry giant? You get a masterclass in navigating the founder journey.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, Shruti Kapoor, founder of Wingman (acquired by Clari), shares her journey from finance to tech, the insights that shaped her approach to building a startup, and why founders need to separate their identity from their company.
We dive into:
✅ How Shruti identified a massive gap in sales enablement and built Wingman
✅ Her experience in Y Combinator and how it shaped her startup journey
✅ The rollercoaster ride of raising capital, scaling a SaaS business, and navigating an acquisition
✅ Why understanding market signals can be the difference between a thriving exit and a missed opportunity
✅ The importance of mental resilience and how she now coaches founders to make better decisions
If you’re a founder, aspiring entrepreneur, or just someone interested in the behind-the-scenes realities of startup life, this episode is a must-listen.
Arjita Sethi’s entrepreneurial journey began at just 16 when she co-founded a vocational school that transformed the lives of over 100,000 people. Fueled by a deep passion for education and impact, she made her way to Silicon Valley, where she faced the realities of building a startup as an immigrant founder. From visa restrictions to raising venture capital, she pushed through intense challenges until burnout forced her to take a step back and reassess what success really meant.
In this episode, Arjita shares hard-earned lessons on balancing ambition with well-being, the hidden struggles of startup life, and why so many founders feel pressure to constantly prove themselves. Now, through New Founder School, she’s empowering unconventional entrepreneurs to build lasting businesses while staying true to themselves. If you’ve ever questioned whether the hustle culture is sustainable, this conversation will leave you with a fresh perspective on what it really takes to build a meaningful venture.
In this episode of Off to the Valley, Nick Jain, CEO of IdeaScale, shares his insights on AI, innovation, and leadership. From turning around struggling businesses without layoffs to leveraging AI for creativity, Nick provides a data-driven perspective on what it really takes to foster innovation in today’s competitive landscape.
Key takeaways from this episode:
• The Reality of AI-Driven Creativity – How AI helps businesses generate, evaluate, and refine ideas faster than ever before.
• Transforming Businesses Without Layoffs – Nick shares his approach to doubling profit margins while keeping teams intact.
• Lessons from Running a Hedge Fund – Why even a number one-ranked investment strategy wasn’t enough for success.
• Innovation Culture in Big vs. Small Companies – What startups and corporations get wrong about fostering creativity.
• Why Some Growth Strategies Fail – The difference between profitable scaling and reckless spending.
From Wall Street to SaaS, Nick’s career spans industries, geographies, and high-stakes decision-making. If you’re looking for actionable insights on scaling, efficiency, and AI-powered creativity, this episode is a must-listen.
Tune in now and rethink how innovation works in the age of AI!