In this episode of Start. Scale. Exit., Ivan Galvez speaks with Nick Manzek, co-founder of Elomia, an AI-powered mental health companion designed to increase access to emotional support around the world. Nick shares Elomia’s journey from early prototypes built in Ukraine to today’s scalable, clinically-informed product. Together, they explore the unique challenges of breaking two stigmas at once—AI and mental health—and what it takes to build a company rooted in mission, not hype.

Nick also gets personal about his own mental health journey, why it fuels his leadership, and what founders must ask themselves before switching products or giving up too soon.

• Why AI-powered mental health tools must be built differently than general chatbots like ChatGPT
• The importance of mission-driven design when creating solutions in high-stakes industries like mental health
• What it means to “stick with it” when building something users don’t love… yet
• Why passion for your customer, not just the product, matters for long-term founder resilience
• How physical activity, sleep, and deep relationships keep Nick grounded as a founder
• Real lessons from scrapping a project too early—only to see it succeed later… without them

“Are you passionate about the customer you serve? If not, you’ll give up too soon.”

• Elomia.com — AI mental health companion
• Tools: Cursor, Lovable (AI-powered no-code development)
• Book: Pasta (in honor of Nick’s Italian grandmother and comfort food as emotional grounding)

• LinkedIn
• Email: nick@elomia.com
• Find Elomia on the App Store or at elomia.com

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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

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In this episode of Start. Scale. Exit., Ivan Galvez speaks with Ruchi Singh, founder and CEO of iRobo, a SaaS platform revolutionizing check-in systems in hospitality and healthcare using AI and robotics. Ruchi shares her 25+ years of global tech experience, how frustrating personal travel and hospital wait times sparked her startup vision, and why thoughtful observation is an underrated entrepreneurial superpower. From MVP to pre-seed, Ruchi walks through building a solution that reduces wait times, improves customer experience, and has the potential to save lives in emergency situations.

• Why long wait times in hotels and hospitals are more than just an inconvenience—they're a global, costly problem
• How real-world frustration can be the spark for scalable innovation
• Ruchi’s journey from India to launching her startup from George Washington University
• What founders must prioritize when building AI-powered solutions for real humans
• The one mindset shift every pre-seed entrepreneur needs to succeed
• Lessons from prototyping hardware SaaS solutions with Intel support

“Be a better thinker. We’ve stopped using our minds to solve real problems. Technology should follow purpose—not the other way around.”

• iRobo (AI & Robotics platform for smart check-ins)
• Seabed Germany tech show
• George Washington University (GWU)
• Bhagavad Gita (Ruchi’s favorite book)
• Perplexity AI (AI tool recommendation)

• LinkedIn
• Email: ruchi.singh6791@gmail.com
• Phone: +1 (857) 395-0594
• Coming soon: iRobo website (currently pre-launch)

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