Welcome back to Two Founders Podcast! Today we talk about the shocking acquisition of Airtable and the top three mistakes startups make when it comes to sales. Of course Matteo also brings a LinkedIn Nugget - should you have an AI on the board? And Anna has received a listener question - should I keep my day-job or jump and do the startup full time?

— Anna’s topic —

Anna gives her list of the top three sales mistakes startups do:

→ Don’t do a free pilot! - Well, it depends - what is the plan after that? What is your relationship 3 years later?

→ Put your price higher! - You don’t know this yet, but probably you can charge more.

→ Keep any material for yourself! - Don’t send any material, book a meeting instead.

— Matteo’s topic —

Matteo talks about the Milan company Bending Spoons’ acquisition of Airtable.

→ Why did Airtable go from a $11B valuation to finally selling for only $1.3B?

→ Was the issue growing too slowly, being overvalued or not reacting quick enough to the vibe-coding entering the market?

— Linkedin Nugget —

Should you have an AI-board member?

Matteo brings the new Linkedin hot topic of letting AI have a seat at the board.

— Listener Question —

Should I keep my day-job or jump and do the startup full time?

Listener Casper has just raised, and is wondering if he should quit his current full time job and go all in for the startup he is building. Matteo pushes for staying, and Anna is definitely team leave.

— Timestamps —

00:00 Intro

01:14 Why you shouldn’t do a free pilot

05:29 Why startups price too low

09:45 Why you shouldn't show your demo too early

13:47 Bending Spoons & the Airtable acquisition

16:18 How Airtable went from $11B to $1.3B

21:34 What startups can learn from Airtable

26:06 Should AI have a seat on your board?

30:31 AI as the memory of a company

34:08 Should you quit your job to build a startup?

38:02 The final verdict: go all-in?

Subscribe to the Two Founders Podcast, we talk about startups and specifically about sales, based on our own experience of building a startup from 0-1, and finally landing an acquisition.

#Startup #Entrepreneurship #Sales #B2BSales #AI #SaaS #Founders #VentureCapital #Airtable #BendingSpoons

In this episode of The Two Founders Podcast, Anna Nilsson and Matteo Ghetti unpack some of the biggest stories shaping startups, AI, sales, and venture capital.

They discuss Google’s massive stock drop and its $200B AI spending plan, the pressure on Gemini to catch up with ChatGPT and Claude, and what the semiconductor market might tell us about the future of AI.

They also dive into the booming defense startup ecosystem: how companies can sell to the military, why government contracts take so long, why domain expertise matters, and what founders should know before entering the space.

Plus, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is back with Atoms, a bet on physical AI, automation, mining, and kitchens. The conversation explores why robotics could be the next major frontier—and why automating the final 20% is much harder than it looks.

And finally: AI-generated content on LinkedIn, why “AI slop” is becoming a problem, and a founder question about whether you should ever offer a free pilot to a potential customer.

A conversation about AI, startups, venture capital, defense, robotics, sales, and the realities of building companies.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CNunws5iKPg

Follow Anna:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-fm-nilsson/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anna.fm.nilsson/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@anna.fm.nilsson

Follow Matteo:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matteo-ghetti/

Microsoft just lost $650 billion in market value after investors questioned whether the company is actually delivering on its AI promise. But what does Microsoft’s story have to do with startups?

In this episode of the Two Founders Podcast, Anna and Matteo discuss:

• Why Microsoft’s AI narrative may have gotten ahead of reality

• What the market expects from Microsoft, Copilot, Azure and OpenAI

• Why startups need to deliver on the promises they make

• Who the world’s top angel investors are and what they have in common • Why many successful angel investors were operators and founders themselves

• Whether you should start selling your startup before your product is finished • Why talking to customers early can be more valuable than building the “perfect” MVP

• How to structure pilots and payments when your product is still evolving

• Why branding and building an online presence can make startup sales easier

The big lesson? A compelling story can get you attention—but eventually, the story has to match reality.

And for founders: go out there and sell.

🎙️ Welcome to Two Founders, where we talk startups, sales, company building, investors and the lessons we learn along the way.

Subscribe: https://dashboard.rss.com/podcasts/twofounderspodcast/

Follow Anna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-fm-nilsson/ https://www.instagram.com/anna.fm.nilsson/

Follow Matteo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matteo-ghetti/

This week we're diving into three of the biggest stories in tech and startups.

🚨 Anthropic under fire: We unpack the controversy around Anthropic's latest AI model, why the US government stepped in, Amazon's surprising role in the story, and what it means for AI safety, regulation, and the company's upcoming IPO. We also take a closer look at Anthropic founder Dario Amodei, his journey from OpenAI to building one of the fastest-growing AI companies in history, and why enterprise customers are flocking to Claude.

🚀 SpaceX becomes a $2 trillion company: Anna finally bought a SpaceX share (despite knowing it's probably terrible timing 😅), which leads us into a discussion about Elon Musk, SpaceX's astonishing valuation, Starlink, Mars, and why investors keep betting on Musk's vision. We also explore whether SpaceX's valuation is justified or simply "the Elon Musk multiplier."

🤖 Jeff Bezos enters the AI race: While everyone is focused on chatbots, Bezos is quietly building Prometheus AI—a company aiming to revolutionize robotics, warehouses, and logistics. Could physical AI become the next trillion-dollar opportunity?

💰 We also debate:

• Will AI create the world's first €1M-per-year employees?
• Why is Sam Altman worth less than Dario Amodei?
• Can AI ever balance innovation with safety?

❓Listener Q&A: Matthias asks whether posting on LinkedIn is actually worth the effort if your customers aren't there. We share our thoughts on personal branding, sales, investors, and why an active LinkedIn profile can still pay off.

If you're interested in startups, AI, entrepreneurship, investing, and the biggest stories shaping the future of technology, this episode is for you.

👍 Like, subscribe, and let us know in the comments: Would you rather own a share of SpaceX or Anthropic?

Should companies stop putting profit first? Is building your own infrastructure a genius move—or a billion-dollar mistake? And do founders really need to work seven days a week to succeed?

In this episode, we tackle three of the biggest debates in startups today.

🌍 Mission over profit? Inspired by Eric Ries' new book, we explore whether companies should be built around a mission instead of maximizing shareholder value. We discuss Anthropic's unusual governance model, Wikipedia's success as a mission-driven organization, and whether startups can realistically prioritize ethics while raising venture capital.

💻 When should startups invest in infrastructure? Mistral AI wants to build its own AI chips—but is it too early? We compare the stories of Snapchat, Dropbox, and Zynga to answer one critical question: When does owning your infrastructure save millions, and when does it become an expensive distraction? Matteo shares a simple framework every scaling startup should know: "Own the base, rent the spike."

🔥 Do founders need to work 7 days a week? We react to the claim that every $5B founder works around the clock. Is relentless hustle the secret to success, or just survivorship bias? We discuss burnout, sustainable entrepreneurship, and when it's actually worth putting in those extra hours.

❓ Listener Q&A: Ida asks what to do when a large enterprise customer wants a custom solution that doesn't fit her SaaS pricing model. Should founders say yes to the big contract—or stay focused on their core business? We break down how to evaluate one-off enterprise deals, price custom work, and avoid getting distracted from your long-term strategy.

If you're building a startup, raising funding, or trying to scale without losing sight of your mission, this episode is packed with practical insights and founder debates.

👍 Like, subscribe, and let us know in the comments:

Would you build a mission-first company—even if it meant slower growth?

Why do some pre-revenue startups raise millions of dollars while others struggle to get a meeting?

In this episode, we break down one of the biggest misconceptions in fundraising: it's not just about your product—it's about the founders behind it. We discuss why investors often back people before ideas, what makes a founding team credible, and how your background can dramatically impact your valuation.

We cover:

• 💰 Why two startups with the same product can receive completely different valuations.
• 🎯 The four traits investors look for in founders, including domain expertise, past achievements, and continuous learning.
• 📚 Why "glorious past" matters—and how to compensate if you don't have one.
• 🚀 Should founders learn sales, or hire someone to do it?
• 🤝 When to bring in advisors, consultants, or a co-founder—and when you should figure it out yourself.
• 🌍 Why diverse founding teams often make better companies, and how respectful disagreement can become a competitive advantage.
• ⚖️ The balance between learning by doing versus endless preparation.

❓Listener Q&A: This week we answer Martin's question: When should you actually register your startup? We discuss why waiting to incorporate can save both money and headaches, how to think about your cap table, and why equal ownership is often the best starting point for committed co-founders.

Whether you're raising your first investment, choosing a co-founder, or wondering how to build a startup that investors believe in, this episode is packed with practical advice from founders who've been there.

👍 Like, subscribe, and tell us in the comments:

What's more important to investors: your idea or your track record?