I am excited to have Fadwa Ouardani, a business angel and VC investor at Leblon Capital, backing founders across the US and Europe.

In this interview, Fadwa Ouardani, a VC investor at Leblon Capital, shares her journey from operator to investor, her views on startup culture, the impact of AI, and advice for founders navigating the global landscape. Discover key traits of successful founders, the importance of company culture, and the future of venture capital.

Timestamps

03:40 Traits of Successful Founders

06:18 Building Strong Company Culture

09:38 Comparing European and American Founders

12:33 The Future of Innovation Globally

15:35 Navigating Founder and Investor Relationships

18:25 Challenges of High Valuations

21:18 Growth Frameworks in AI

24:21 The Role of IPOs in Venture Capital

27:07 Advice for Emerging Managers

Fadwa's Links

LDN/ X – https://www.linkedin.com/in/fadwa-ouardani/

Website – https://leblon-capital.com

My Links

Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes

Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe

YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/

Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/outbound-sales-mastery/

I am thrilled to have Vincent Jong, the founder of DataMerge, a B2B data platform challenging ZoomInfo and Apollo with smarter enrichment waterfalls and transparent pricing and Meetbot which is an AI‑first scheduling platform. He also builds AI-first companies through Poolside Ventures and hosts SaaS on the Beach, an exclusive retreat for top SaaS founders.

In this interview, Vincent Jong, shares insights on building AI-first SaaS products, data enrichment, and startup strategies. Discover how he leverages AI to create cost-efficient, scalable solutions and his approach to building successful ventures without external funding.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Vincent Jong and His Ventures

03:42 Vincent's Journey into Startups and Product Management

06:15 The Value of Company Data in Sales and Marketing

09:41 Understanding Enrichment Waterfalls in Data Providers

12:42 Transparent Pricing in Data Services

15:38 Building AI-First Companies Without Traditional Engineering Teams

18:42 The Role of AI in Marketing and Content Creation

26:35 Optimizing for AI Understanding

28:50 Profitability and Competitive Advantage

30:42 Building for Longevity and Growth

34:03 Intentional Decision-Making in Startups

39:36 Creating Meaningful Connections at SaaS on the Beach

Vincent's Links

LDN/ X – https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentjong/

Website – https://www.poolside.ventures

My Links

Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes

Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe

YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/

Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/outbound-sales-mastery/

I am thrilled to have Alex Shartsis, the founder and CEO of Skyp, a bootstrapped AI email platform powering personalized outbound for sales teams at leading companies.

In this episode, Alex Shartsis, founder and CEO of Skyp, shares insights on building a bootstrapped GTM software company, writing outbound that actually earns replies, and winning a crowded category against far better-funded rivals. Discover how one conference-outreach play packed an enterprise pipeline with 130 leads in a single quarter, why a $20M exit can beat a $20M raise, and what most people still get wrong about AI-generated cold email in 2026.

Timestamps

00:50 What a great sales team actually looks like

02:48 Why Alex bootstrapped Skyp instead of raising VC

07:42 The payback math: when a $20M outcome beats a $20M raise 10:32 Outbound in 2026 — personalization that works vs. slop

15:05 Do follow-up emails work? (why he ignores your first one)

18:02 Email + LinkedIn + phone: the multi-channel workflow

22:42 AI coding tools for non-technical founders & GTM leaders 27:54 Pricing: why Skip refuses credit-based pricing

33:51 Winning a crowded category against better-funded rivals 37:59 Personal brand & newsletter as a GTM engine

41:39 Rapid fire: favorite business book

43:08 What he'd do differently building Skyp

Alex's Links

LDN/ X – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shartsis/

Website – https://skyp.ai/

My Links

Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes

Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe

YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/

Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/outbound-sales-mastery/