8spotlight
Conversations with YC founders, investment insights, and stories from the startup ecosystem. Get inside access to the minds building tomorrow's biggest companies.
Latest Episodes
Spotlighting RealRoots: How Dorothy Li is Revolutionizing Friendship for Women
"Can something artificial create something real?" This is one of the questions we tackle in this poignant episode of 8Spotlight with Dorothy Li, the co-founder of RealRoots. A Y Combinator–backed company growing at lightning speed, RealRoots is on a mission to help women form genuine friendships in a world that often makes that harder than ever.
Spotlighting Taiv: How Noah Palansky Found PMF And The Road To A Successful Series A Raise
In this episode of 8Spotlight, we sit down with Noah Palansky, co-founder of Taiv, the company turning everyday TVs in restaurants, gyms, and retail spaces into dynamic, revenue-generating media networks. Since its early days in Y Combinator, Taiv has grown rapidly: now with more than 3,000 signed partners and a freshly closed Series A led by IDC Ventures. Noah takes us behind the scenes of that growth, sharing how Taiv built and scaled a product that works for business owners, advertisers, and consumers alike.
Spotlighting Verata: How Josh Gardner Turned Vision into Venture, Advice For First Time Founders
In the debut episode of 8Spotlight, we sit down with Josh Gardner, co-founder of Verata, to explore his journey from early career insights to building a YC-backed company tackling big problems in private equity platforms. Josh shares the pivotal moments (I believe the exact words used in this episode are "pivot hell"), tough decisions, and lessons learned along the road to PMF, offering a candid look at what it really takes to turn an idea into impact.
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