From COO of PolyAI to investor at Point72, Yan Zhang reveals what it really takes to scale AI startups globally — and why he’s building again.

In this episode of Startup Scaleup People, we sit down with Yan Zhang, former Chief Operating Officer at PolyAI, now an angel investor, mentor at Cambridge Founders and Deep Tech Labs, and Principal at Point72 Ventures.

Yan unpacks how PolyAI scaled voice AI across 20+ countries and how he now supports founders with funding and operational insight.

🎧 Hosted by Mario Rivas this conversation explores scaling enterprise AI, operating under constraints, go-to-market in the U.S. vs Europe, sales hiring, founder resilience, and why Yan still wants to build.

📢 About Startup Scaleup People
Real stories from startup, scaleup, and enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages — we bring you insights on growth, leadership, funding, exits, and everything in between.
New episodes every Sunday at 4PM UK time.

🧭 Chapters
00:00 Yan’s Global Career Journey
04:00 Corporate Development, Random House & China Expansion
08:00 Joining PolyAI & Focus on Voice Modality
11:00 Understanding Constraints and Business Strategy
15:00 Scaling to $50M ARR & Global Teams
20:00 Sales Hiring Challenges & Expansion into the U.S.
24:00 From Operator to Investor: 400+ AI Startups Reviewed
28:00 What He’ll Build Next & Advice for Founders

💬 Key Highlights
▸ COO at PolyAI: Scaled enterprise AI voice to $50M revenue
▸ Led expansion into 20+ countries and U.S. GTM
▸ Principal at Point72 Ventures, investing in applied AI startups
▸ 15+ angel investments across Europe & Silicon Valley
▸ Mentor at Cambridge Founders & Deep Tech Labs
▸ Practical insights on sales hiring, constraints, resilience, and exits

👥 Who Should Listen
AI founders, B2B operators, enterprise sales leaders, investors, and founders scaling internationally.

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LinkedIn (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariorivassanchez/
Website: https://www.squarecircle.me

🏷️
startupleadership, businessgrowth, scaleups, enterprise, venturecapital, startup, founderstories, innovation, businesspodcast, leadership, startupstrategy, funding, exits, techfounders, saas, ai, investing, resilience

How do you lead product through hypergrowth, scale to IPO, and now advise the next generation of startups? In this episode of Startup Scaleup People, we sit down with Adriana Landaverde, a seasoned Chief Product Officer with 3 successful exits, including Trulia (IPO) and Nutmeg (acquired by JPMorgan).

From El Salvador to Silicon Valley to London, Adriana shares what it takes to scale product teams, build retention strategies, and become a trusted advisor to early-stage founders.

📢 About Startup Scaleup People: Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages — we bring you insights on growth, leadership, funding, exits, and everything in between.New episodes every Sunday at 4PM UK time.

🧭 Chapters

00:00 Intro & Adriana's Background

02:00 What IPO Teaches You That Books Don’t

07:00 From El Salvador to Stanford to Silicon Valley

10:30 Trulia, Nutmeg & Product Leadership Across Stages

14:00 Balancing Customer Needs with Strategy

17:00 Aligning Sales, Product & Go-To-Market Teams

22:00 Nutmeg Launch Failure: Lessons in Execution

26:00 What Makes a Good Founder-Advisor Fit?

33:00 Clarity, Team Roles & Strategy for Scaling Startups

💬 Key Highlights

▸ Led product at Trulia (IPO $450M+), Nutmeg (acquired by JPMorgan), JamesEdition and more

▸ Scaled B2B & B2C product orgs across UK, US & EU

▸ Deep insights on retention, churn, and cross-functional product teams

▸ Advisor to Series A/B startups as fractional CPO

▸ Built product strategy with customer empathy + commercial focus

▸ Evangelist for sales + product collaboration

👥 Who Should Listen

Product leaders • Founders • CPOs • B2B/B2C Operators • Fractionals • Investors • Go-to-market teams

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariorivassanchez/

📌 https://www.squarecircle.me

🧠 Keywordsstartup, scaleup, entrepreneurship, business podcast, leadership, business growth, founder mindset, startup stories, scaleup journey, entrepreneur advice, business strategy, innovation, venture capital, startup founders, startup funding, executive leadership, enterprise strategy, enterprise leadership, business transformation, board of directors, fractional leadership, NEDs, startup scaleup people, fintech, product leadership, retention, advisor

#startupleadership #businessgrowth #scaleups #enterprise #boardleadership #venturecapital #startup #founderstories #innovation #businesspodcast #careergrowth #operationalexcellence #leadershipdevelopment #startupstrategy #funding #exitstrategies #teambuilding #corporategovernance #techfounders #startupscaleuppeople #startupfunding #vc #podcast #shorts #leadership #fintech #entrepreneurship #investing #governance #peoplestories #experience #leadershipskills #leadershiplessons #businessleadership #businessstrategy #businessideas #businesssuccessstories #businesssuccess #biotech #saas #failure #fail #entrepreneur #howtoinvest #hiring #digitaltransformation #expansion #businessexpansion #energy #technology #techstartup #techfounders #successmindset #motivation #mindset #perseverance #resilience #Emprendimiento #Empreendedorismo #Entrepreneuriat #Unternehmertum #Imprenditorialità #Ondernemerschap #उद्यमिता #ريادة_الأعمال #Girişimcilik #Kewirausahaan #Pagnenegosyo #创业 #起業家精神 #기업가정신

How do you build a global, high-impact healthtech business bootstrapped and profitable from day one?

In this episode of Startup Scaleup People, we speak with Jonathan Larbey, CEO & Founder of T-Pro, an AI-powered clinical documentation platform trusted by over 130,000 clinicians globally.

🎧 Hosted by Mario Rivas this conversation dives into building a healthcare SaaS business from zero to $30M ARR through acquisitions, product innovation, global expansion, and governance.

Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages — we bring you insights on growth, leadership, funding, exits, and everything in between.

New episodes every Sunday at 4PM UK time.

🧭 Chapters

00:00 Jonathan’s Journey: From Rugby to Tech CEO
04:00 Solving Clinical Documentation at Scale
08:00 Global Expansion: UK, ANZ, India & More
12:00 Impact on Clinicians & Healthcare Systems
17:00 Reaching $30M ARR with Strategic Acquisitions
23:00 Governance, Boards & Private Equity Partners
29:00 Lessons in Due Diligence & Integration
36:00 Founder Advice & Leadership Lessons

💬 Key Highlights

▸ 130K+ active users, tens of millions of documents processed annually
▸ Bootstrapped and profitable from the start — now private equity-backed
▸ Strategic acquisitions in Ireland, UK, Australia, India & New Zealand
▸ Built M&A playbook and acquisition runway for future growth
▸ Solving clinician burnout & documentation inefficiencies with AI
▸ Active board with PE firm Livingbridge and top-tier chair
▸ Insights on scaling in highly regulated global markets

👥 Who Should Listen

Healthtech founders • SaaS leaders • PE-backed executives • Board directors • Clinicians • Global operators • Investors

🔗 Follow & Subscribe

📌 https://www.instagram.com/startupscaleuppeople/
📌 https://www.tiktok.com/@square.circle.podcast
📌 https://open.spotify.com/show/3804Om0XrGG1gNRsev6DlU
📌 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/startup-scaleup-people/id1847157416
📌 https://www.linkedin.com/company/squarecirclecommunity/
📌 https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariorivassanchez/
📌 https://www.squarecircle.me

🧠 Keywords

startup, scaleup, entrepreneurship, business podcast, leadership, business growth, founder mindset, startup stories, scaleup journey, entrepreneur advice, business strategy, innovation, venture capital, startup founders, startup funding, executive leadership, enterprise leadership, enterprise strategy, business transformation, board of directors, fractional leadership, NEDs, startup scaleup people, AI, healthtech, SaaS, M&A, private equity, clinician productivity

#startupleadership #businessgrowth #scaleups #enterprise #boardleadership #venturecapital #startup #founderstories #innovation #businesspodcast #careergrowth #operationalexcellence #leadershipdevelopment #startupstrategy #funding #exitstrategies #teambuilding #corporategovernance #techfounders #startupscaleuppeople #startupfunding #vc #podcast #shorts #leadership #fintech #entrepreneurship #investing #governance #peoplestories #experience #leadershipskills #leadershiplessons #businessleadership #businessstrategy #businessideas #businesssuccessstories #businesssuccess #biotech #saas #failure #fail #entrepreneur #howtoinvest #hiring #digitaltransformation #expansion #businessexpansion #energy #technology #techstartup #techfounders #successmindset #motivation #mindset #perseverance #resilience #Emprendimiento #Empreendedorismo #Entrepreneuriat #Unternehmertum #Imprenditorialità #Ondernemerschap #उद्यमिता #ريادة_الأعمال #Girişimcilik #Kewirausahaan #Pagnenegosyo #创业 #起業家精神 #기업가정신