Founders in Arms Podcast
Two founder-CEOs interview their peers—other founders, operators, and VCs—about the tactical realities of building and scaling tech companies.
This is a conversation between active founders and investors, not a standard interview show. The hosts, both CEOs of significant tech companies, use their shared context to bypass pleasantries and get straight to the tactical challenges of building a business. Episodes dissect origin stories, pivots, and acquisitions with an insider's perspective, often relating guest experiences back to the hosts' own journeys with Mercury and Presto.
“Unlike many business podcasts, the hosts are not journalists or career interviewers; they are active founder-CEOs. This peer-to-peer dynamic creates a high-signal, low-fluff conversation grounded in the shared, lived experience of building and scaling a tech company.”
Who hosts this show
Founders in Arms is a weekly podcast hosted by fellow startup founders Immad Akhund, the CEO of Mercury, and Rajat Suri, co-founder of Lyft and founder of Presto. The two explore current events in tech and startups, drawing on their own careers and the experiences of their expert guests. The show is a peer-to-peer conversation about the real journey of building companies.
Credentials & credits
- Immad Akhund: Co-founder & CEO, Mercury
- Immad Akhund: Co-founder, Heyzap (acquired for $45M)
- Immad Akhund: Part-time Partner, Y Combinator (W17)
- Rajat Suri: Co-founder, Lyft (as Zimride)
- Rajat Suri: Founder & CEO, Presto
- Rajat Suri: Co-founder, Tribe Chat & Lima
Other ventures
- Immad Akhund: Prolific angel investor (350+ companies)
- Rajat Suri: Angel investor (Mercury, Retell AI)
- Immad Akhund: Solo GP venture fund
- Rajat Suri: Helm Investment Partners
- Rajat Suri: Qatar Investment Authority
What kind of podcast
When new episodes drop
- 01100 Years of Oil Prices vs. 30 Years of SolarJun 28, 2026 · 1 min
- 02
- 03Olo Founder: The Secret to Selling Tech to Traditional ExecutivesJun 26, 2026 · 53s
- 04AI as a substitute? No. AI as a complement.Jun 25, 2026 · 56s
- 05If You Have Less Than 1 Hour a Week, Don't Pick StocksJun 23, 2026 · 1 min
- 06The Pivot That Turned a Failing Startup Into a Billion-Dollar OpportunityJun 20, 2026 · 5 min
- 07Build Something People Can't Live WithoutJun 13, 2026 · 7 min
- 08The Best Startup Ideas Usually Look Like Bad IdeasJun 12, 2026 · 11 min
Notable episodes
- 01The New Rules of Startup Scale... With Dan Teran
A deep dive into the realities of scaling, the illusion of Total Addressable Market (TAM), and the inside story of being acquired by WeWork.
- 02The Pivot That Turned a Failing Startup Into a Billion-Dollar Opportunity
Chronicles the messy reality of a successful pivot, including the decision to shut down a core product to focus on a side-project API that showed immense promise.
- 03WorkOS's Michael Grinich on Becoming the Enterprise Layer for AI's Biggest Companies
Explores the transition from consumer-focused design to building mission-critical developer infrastructure, and the mindset required to build for the 'ultimate boss battle' of tech.
What you'll be asked on this show
The hosts typically open by establishing a guest's background and the origin story of their company. From there, the conversation flows organically based on the guest's specific journey, whether it involves a major pivot, a difficult fundraising environment, or a significant acquisition. The hosts probe with direct, tactical questions drawn from their own founder experiences, such as, "How did you figure out the payment rails?" or asking about the specifics of an M&A process. The style is less of a formal interview and more of a collaborative debrief among peers, aimed at extracting actionable lessons and frameworks.
Co-hosted by Immad Akhund and Rajat Suri, the format is a casual, multi-way discussion that includes a guest. The hosts are well-researched and ask specific, informed questions. They frequently contribute their own stories and lessons, creating a collaborative atmosphere rather than a rigid Q&A.
Questions the host keeps coming back to
8 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when the host reaches for it.
origin
1- Q.01
“Can you tell us a little bit about your background and the founding story of your company?”
This is the standard opening to establish the guest's credentials and the company's origin for the audience.
process
2- Q.01
“Walk us through the story of your acquisition.”
Used to get a detailed, chronological account of the M&A process from a founder's perspective.
- Q.02
“How did you figure out the [technical or business challenge] in the early days?”
The hosts use this to dig into specific, tactical problems that founders face before modern tools existed.
advice
1- Q.01
“What's your take on [a specific business model] now that you've been through it?”
This question seeks a founder's evolved perspective on a strategy or model they previously used.
future
1- Q.01
“What's your view on the future of the [industry] space?”
Asks the guest, as an expert, to speculate on where their industry is headed.
money
1- Q.01
“What are the current benchmarks for raising a Series A for a non-AI company?”
A direct question seeking concrete, current advice for founders in the audience.
controversy
1- Q.01
“So you were essentially breaking the rules when you started?”
A probing question to understand the risk-taking and unconventional tactics used in a startup's early stages.
craft
1- Q.01
“How does it feel to pivot from your design background to working on enterprise APIs?”
This question explores the personal and professional shift a founder makes when moving into a very different domain.
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are typically founders, CEOs, and managing partners at venture capital firms, often from within the hosts' personal and professional networks. Recent guests include founders of companies like WorkOS, iRobot, and Vercel.
- Dan Teranon The New Rules of Startup Scale: Survival, TAM Illusions, and Opting into Excellence With Dan Teran
- Noah Glasson Olo Founder: The Secret to Selling Tech to Traditional Executives
- Michael Grinichon WorkOS's Michael Grinich on Becoming the Enterprise Layer for AI's Biggest Companies
- Guillermo Rauchon Guillermo Rauch at Founders in Arms Live: Simplicity, Focus, and the Bet That Built Vercel
- Colin Angleon Before Robots Were Cool: The 33-Year Journey of iRobot's Founder, Colin Angle
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The primary sponsor appears to be Mercury, the financial technology company co-founded and led by host Immad Akhund. This is an estimated observation based on the provided evidence.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch this show
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People also ask
- Who are the hosts of Founders in Arms?
- The hosts are Immad Akhund, co-founder and CEO of Mercury, and Rajat Suri, co-founder of Lyft and founder of Presto.
- What is the format of the podcast?
- It is a weekly interview show where the two hosts have a casual, in-depth conversation with a single guest, who is typically another founder or investor.
- Is the podcast still being produced?
- Yes, as of mid-2026, the podcast is actively releasing new episodes on a weekly basis.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The podcast is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and its own Substack.
- What kind of topics are discussed?
- The show focuses on the tactical aspects of building a tech company, including fundraising, pivoting, product-market fit, M&A, and leadership.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]Founders in Arms - Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
- [02]Founders in Arms Podcast | Substackfoundersinarms.substack.com
- [03]Immad Akhund - Milken Institutemilkeninstitute.org
- [04]Rajat Suri - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [05]Michael Grinich, CEO of WorkOS | Sacrasacra.com
- [06]Dan Teran - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [07]Rajat Suri, Angel Investor - Ask For Fundingaskforfunding.com
- [08]Immad Akhund - Grokipediagrok.podiant.co
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