In this episode of Start. Scale. Exit., Ivan Galvez interviews Harrison Telyan, co-founder of FlowGlad, an open-source payments and billing platform built with developers in mind. Harrison shares how his journey started by redesigning apps in high school, how a cold Imgur redesign earned him a job, and why testing profitably is more valuable than raising capital. He walks us through building products post-YC, bootstrapping FlowGlad with cashflow from his design firm Numi, and what it means to build high-trust, high-performance teams without falling into the “yes-man” trap.

Whether you're early-stage, scaling, or just refining your monetization engine—this episode is packed with real-world startup frameworks, founder psychology, and actionable advice.

• Why selling before building is the golden rule of modern startup validation
• How to test ideas profitably and avoid building the wrong thing
• Why FlowGlad chose to be open source and bootstrap instead of chasing VCs
• Lessons learned from growing design agency Numi to $2M ARR
• How travel and taste-building (e.g. museums!) improve product design judgment
• Why hiring based on urgency, clarity, and values is more scalable than resumes

“We developed an allergic reaction to building before selling. Test profitably. Validate with real conversations, then build.”

• FlowGlad — Open-source billing and payments for developers
• Numi.tech — Startup design department-as-a-service
• M-Pesa — The mobile payments system that inspired global innovation
• Book: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• Favorite App: Robinhood — Best-in-class product design meets investment tech

• LinkedIn
• FlowGlad.com
• Join the FlowGlad Discord

Listen Now & Subscribe:

Spotify | Apple Podcast

Or find us wherever you get your podcasts.

Powered by Sintesys.us

Sintesys helps SaaS founders scale their platforms and customer experiences with high-performance development and support.