Riding Unicorns is the go-to podcast for anyone interested in venture capital and high-growth startups. Hosted by VCs James Pringle and Hector Mason, the show explores what it takes to build and back successful tech unicorns. Each episode features candid conversations with top founders, operators, and investors—unpacking the strategies, challenges, and insights behind scaling category-defining companies. From fundraising and product-market fit to hiring, growth, and beyond, no topic is off-l ...
…
continue reading
Riding Unicorns Productions Podcasts
We cover all things cycling, training, fitness, nutrition, racing, and sports tech through our countless years of cycling. In short, we have seen some stuff, so we draw off our experiences as masters cyclists who have been training and racing for the better part of our adult lives. Our typical podcasts include a weekly recap of our training and racing (The Backpedal), recent cycling news (The Leadout), and a new topic for each week. Thanks for checking out the Dialed Cycling Podcast!
…
continue reading
On Season 2, Melissa Kwan (Cofounder of eWebinar) and Todd Parmley (COO) relive their "Journey to $1M" ARR, bootstrapping eWebinar from day one. Each episode goes in depth into one major aspect of the journey, as Melissa and Todd share war stories, mistakes, and lessons learned as they grew the company to a million in annual recurring revenue, over a period of 36 months from product launch. If you’re a bootstrapper who wants a window into the day-to-day lives of other scrappy bootstrappers n ...
…
continue reading

1
AI, Infra vs Apps & Spotting Red Herrings with Akash Bajwa, Principal @ Earlybird
47:15
47:15
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:15Akash Bajwa, Principal at Earlybird VC, one of Europe’s longest-standing early-stage funds. Akash shares his journey into venture and how he helped launch Earlybird’s London office, now a core hub for the firm. We dive into the state of AI investing, how to distinguish enduring companies from short-term hype, and what traits define the next wave of…
…
continue reading

1
Investing in Africa's Digital Future, Lexi Novitske, GP @ Norrsken22
43:51
43:51
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:51Lexi Novitske, General Partner at Norrsken22, a $205m growth-stage fund backing transformative tech companies across Africa. Lexi has spent over a decade living and investing in Nigeria, backing breakout African startups like Paystack, Flutterwave, and Smile Identity. As one of the continent’s most respected VCs, she shares how her team is building…
…
continue reading

1
Growth Equity, VCTs and Exits with Rupert West, Managing Director @ Puma Growth Partners
43:17
43:17
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:17Please note: The topics covered in this episode should not be taken as investment advice. This week on Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by Rupert West, the founder and Managing Director of Puma Growth Partners, a UK-based growth equity investor backing companies at Series A with cheque sizes of £4–10m. Puma invests across consumer brands, B2B SaaS, an…
…
continue reading

1
Building Outreach to a $4bn unicorn and helping AI agents get paid with Paid.ai - Manny Medina, Co-Founder & CEO @ Paid.ai
50:38
50:38
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
50:38This week on Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by Manny Medina, the visionary founder behind Outreach — the $4B sales engagement unicorn — and now co-founder & CEO of Paid.ai, a startup pioneering how AI agents get priced, paid, and scaled. We dive into Manny’s remarkable journey from zero to $250M+ ARR with Outreach, the gritty early days of selling d…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 374 - Balancing Fun and Training to Maintain the Enjoyment of Cycling
1:05:45
1:05:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:05:45Send us a text We had a great question that touched on an issue we have all been confronted with at some point... How do you balance having fun on the bike without getting burned out sticking to a training program that will help you achieve your goals? Support the show
…
continue reading

1
Building, Backing & Scaling in an AI-Native World with Kenneth Auchenberg, Partner @ AlleyCorp
47:26
47:26
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:26In this episode we are joined by Kenneth Auchenberg, Partner at AlleyCorp — one of New York’s most prolific early-stage funds known for incubating companies like MongoDB, Business Insider, and Radical AI. Kenneth’s journey from coding at 16 in Copenhagen to shaping global developer ecosystems at Stripe and Microsoft gives him a unique lens into the…
…
continue reading

1
Inside the Quantum Infrastructure Revolution with Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, Founder & CEO @ Nu Quantum
43:33
43:33
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:33This week on Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by Carmen Palacios-Berraquero, Founder and CEO of Nu Quantum, a pioneering company building the networking layer for the quantum computing era. Carmen’s journey started in academia, researching quantum photonics, before she spun out Nu Quantum from the University of Cambridge. Now backed by top deep tech i…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 373 - Best All-Around Rider, Best Value Gravel Groupset, WTF are some drivers thinking??!?
1:29:44
1:29:44
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:29:44Send us a text What is the Best All-Around Rider competition, how does it work, and how can you win it? A listener asks for advice on putting together the best value gravel groupset for a bike build. What the [ice cream sandwich] are some drivers thinking? Support the show
…
continue reading

1
Building the "Lovable of Marketing" with Patrick Haede, Co-Founder & CEO @ Superscale AI
56:31
56:31
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
56:31In this episode, we're joined by Patrick Haede, the founder of Superscale AI, a breakout new startup transforming how digital products are marketed. 🚀 Inspired by Lovable’s success in democratising product-building, Patrick saw the next major frontier: distribution. In a world where anyone can now build a product, how do you market it effectively? …
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 372 - TdF Femmes, Weighing in on Weight, eBike Domination and Are You Packing Protection?
1:29:54
1:29:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:29:54Send us a text We're all finally back together to discuss the TdF Femmes, should we be critiquing or discussing people's weight, are eBikes threatening cycling as we know it, and are you packing heat? We also answer some listener questions, and per usual, go off on a few tangents. Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, …
…
continue reading

1
Scaling from startup to £70M+ funding in 16 months with Paul Anthony, Co-founder of Primer & Colossal
55:58
55:58
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
55:58Paul Anthony is the co-founder of Primer, a rapidly growing payment orchestration platform with over 200 employees and more than £70 million in funding from top-tier investors including Seed Camp, Balderton, Accel, and Iconic. His journey began as the first employee at a FinTech startup (now called Depay), followed by a stint at PayPal's Braintree …
…
continue reading

1
Simone Maini, CEO @ Elliptic, on Leading Through Crypto Winters and Building Elliptic into a Blockchain Analytics Leader
37:05
37:05
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:05In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James and Hector sit down with Simone Maini, CEO of Elliptic, the world’s leading blockchain analytics company. Simone’s career path is anything but conventional — from a history degree and Deutsche Bank to leading a $100M+ funded crypto intelligence powerhouse. 🧠 After 8 years in banking and a stint in anti-mone…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 371 - Was the TdF boring? New riding destinations? Why are we so busy?
1:34:25
1:34:25
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:34:25Send us a text We recap some final thoughts on the Tour and debate whether or not it was boring. We also plot some new riding destinations and why they are on our radar. discuss why we have been so freaking busy, and cover some great listener questions from the EPO Chainmail. Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healt…
…
continue reading

1
Pattern recognition and backing Europe's next unicorns with Andrei Brasoveanu, Partner @ Accel
39:32
39:32
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
39:32From international math olympiads to high-frequency trading to leading deals at Accel, Andrei Brasoveanu has carved one of the most impressive careers in European tech. After a decade on Wall Street as a quant, he joined Accel’s London office and quickly became one of their top investors—backing breakout companies like Celonis and, more recently, P…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 370 - SRAM joins us again to talk about a bunch of great tech and the Tour de France
2:03:49
2:03:49
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
2:03:49Send us a text Troy and Derek from SRAM join us again to discuss tech at the Tour de France, new SRAM products, and answer a bunch of our questions. We also recap everything that has happened in the tour thus far and our thoughts on what's to come. This is a long one, so make sure you stick around until the end for some great stories! Fit, Healthy …
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 369 - 2025 Tour de France, Oregon Trail Gravel Stage race recap, and some great listener questions!
1:20:48
1:20:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:20:48Send us a text We run through all of our thoughts going into the Tour de France, recap the Oregon Trail Gravel stage race, and cover a bunch of great listener questions that were sent in. Want to join our free TdF Fantasy league? Go to Tour de France Fantasy by Tissot and search for "Dialed Podcast" or League 31745. Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy …
…
continue reading

1
Building Europe’s Investment Rails with Martin Kassing, Founder & CEO @ Upvest
40:12
40:12
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:12This week on Riding Unicorns, we're joined by Martin Kassing, founder and CEO of Upvest, one of Europe’s fastest-growing fintech infrastructure companies. Martin’s journey spans private equity, Rocket Internet, multiple startups, and now leading a company that powers investment products for the likes of Revolut and N26. In this wide-ranging convers…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 368 - New SRAM and Garmin products, a boring TdF?, the love/hate for Whoop, and why are you still training?
1:24:25
1:24:25
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:24:25Send us a text Will the Tour de France be boring this year? New SRAM and Garmin product drops. Why the love-hate relationship with Whoop? Why are you training when you have no events or races on the calendar? Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus... Listen…
…
continue reading

1
RU Summit 2025 with Yoann Pavy and Oana Jinga, in Partnership with Cooley LLP
33:43
33:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
33:43In this special Riding Unicorns episode, recorded live during London Tech Week and hosted at Cooley’s London HQ, we bring you two candid conversations from the frontline of startup building. 🚀 First up: Yoann Pavy, a growth marketing veteran (ex-Deliveroo, Depop, Perkbox), shares why distribution-first thinking is flipping product development on it…
…
continue reading

1
From Founder Failure to Building a €100M+ European VC Fund with Apostolos Apostolakis, Managing Partner @ VentureFriends
35:21
35:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
35:21In this episode, we’re joined by Apostolos Apostolakis, the founder-turned-VC behind VentureFriends, a pan-European pre-seed and seed fund known for backing consumer and fintech breakouts like Plum, Blueground, Huspy, Carmoola and Instashop. Apostolos shares a remarkable story of resilience — from scaling a startup to €100M+ in revenue and 500 empl…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 367 - The one where we talked about tariffs and the cycling industry.
1:42:59
1:42:59
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:42:59Send us a text We dig into the effects that the tariffs are having on the cycling industry, debate some of the possible pros and cons, discuss our long term thoughts, and cover a few potential ways you might be able to find deals on stuff you need. Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted …
…
continue reading

1
Investing as a multi-stage fund into Europe's top startups with Deepka Rana, Principal @ Northzone
35:00
35:00
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
35:00In this episode, we’re joined by Deepka Rana, Principal at leading venture fund Northzone, early backers of Klarna, Truelayer, Spotify, iZettle, Kahoot, and Personio. Deepka shares her journey from physics at Imperial and investment banking to investing in some of Europe’s most exciting startups. We unpack: 💸 What it’s like to operate a billion-dol…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 366 - Unpacking Unbound, Giro recap, cycling in Spain, race equality, and where have we been?
1:42:17
1:42:17
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:42:17Send us a text We unpack everything that went down at Unbound Gravel, discuss the great finish at the Giro, recount Lance and Ian's cycling trip in Spain, and Matt hits us with a really tough question. Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus... Listen on: Ap…
…
continue reading

1
Building voice-AI infrastructure and scaling go-to-market globally with Carles Reina, GTM @ ElevenLabs & Angel Investor
48:20
48:20
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
48:20In this episode of Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by Carles Reina, Go-to-Market Lead at ElevenLabs, an AI Audio research and deployment company that tripled it's valuation to $3.3BN in January, after confirming a new $180M funding round. From starting out as a banker in Barcelona to scaling Uber’s first European team, and now investing in over 70 st…
…
continue reading

1
Building the universal integration layer for modern products and raising a Series A from GV with Romain Sestier & Guillaume Lebedel, Co-Founders @ StackOne
47:42
47:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:42In this episode of Riding Unicorns, we're joined by Romain Sestier and Guillaume Lebedel, the co-founders of StackOne, a rapidly growing startup that’s building the universal integration layer for modern SaaS and AI products. Hot off the back of their $20M Series A led by GV, the duo joins us to share their journey, insights, and lessons from the t…
…
continue reading

1
Capsule Scale-Up 50 Panel with Poly AI, Flo Health, Carmoola, & Xampla
46:55
46:55
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:55Recorded live at the Capsule Scale-Up 50 event in London on 30th April 2025, this episode features a standout panel discussion moderated by our co-host James Pringle. The Scale-Up 50 is Capsule’s flagship celebration of the UK’s fastest-growing, most exciting scale-ups, recognising the founders, leaders, and investors driving the next generation of…
…
continue reading

1
Building the Future of Marketing with Raffi Salama, CEO & Co-Founder @ Passionfruit
51:41
51:41
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:41In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James Pringle is joined by Raffi Salama, Co-Founder & CEO of Passionfruit, a fast-growing marketing OS used by the world’s most ambitious brands to orchestrate campaigns across resourcing, planning, execution, and tracking. Raffi shares his journey from launching David Beckham’s Inter Miami football club to scali…
…
continue reading

1
Building the premium venture studio and fund for consumer brands with Mike Jones, Founding Partner @ Science
51:18
51:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:18Subscribe to the Reading Unicorns newsletter here. Follow Riding Unicorns on LinkedIn here. Subscribe to the Riding Unicorns YouTube channel here. In this episode we're joined by Mike Jones, Managing Partner at Science Inc., a trailblazing venture studio behind breakout brands like Dollar Shave Club, Liquid Death, and DogVacay (merged with Rover). …
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 365 - Talking Women's Cycling with a Unicorn in the Women's Cycling Community!
1:26:25
1:26:25
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:26:25Send us a text Our own Camryn Berglin joins us to talk about the women's racing, building the women's cycling community, women mechanics and much more. Per usual, we also cover some recent races and get into some cycling bantar. Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle fro…
…
continue reading

1
Investing in the future of KidsTech, Gaming and Media with Dylan Collins, Founder @ SuperAwesome (acq. Epic Games)
43:47
43:47
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:47Subscribe to the Reading Unicorns newsletter here. Follow Riding Unicorns on LinkedIn here. Subscribe to the Riding Unicorns YouTube channel here. In this episode of Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by legendary repeat founder Dylan Collins, known for building and exiting three companies—including SuperAwesome, acquired by Epic Games. Dylan takes us o…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 364 - Best and worst cycling stories, and how cycling made our lives better and worse.
1:33:58
1:33:58
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:33:58Send us a text Spring Classics drama (Pogačar caught?!), listener questions about best/worst rides, and how has cycling made our lives both better and worse. Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus... Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Support the show…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 363 - Sea Otter, Bucket List Items for All Things Cycling, and Race Recaps
1:19:23
1:19:23
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:19:23Send us a text We are back with racing recaps, gear talk from Sea Otter, wild fan behavior at Paris-Roubaix, and a deep dive into our ultimate cycling bucket list items. Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus... Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Support the…
…
continue reading

1
Investing in the B2B Fintech sector with Mark Beeston, Founder @ Illuminate Financial
41:09
41:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:09Subscribe to the Reading Unicorns newsletter here. Follow Riding Unicorns on LinkedIn here. Subscribe to the Riding Unicorns YouTube channel here. In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James Pringle and Hector Mason are joined by Mark Beeston, Founder and Managing Partner at Illuminate Financial—a thesis-driven venture capital firm investing in B2B F…
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 362 - New Tech Drops & Why are Race Fees Increasing?
1:37:10
1:37:10
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:37:10Send us a text We breakdown some reasons why racing is getting more expensive and possible ways to combat the increasing cost while supporting the promoters. We also discuss the new tech drops from Wahoo, recap local races from last weekend, and dig into the Paris-Roubaix. Enjoy the podcast! Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy …
…
continue reading

1
The firm with a 1-in-6 unicorn investment rate. Staffan Helgesson, General Partner @ Creandum
47:48
47:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
47:48Subscribe to the Reading Unicorns newsletter here. Follow Riding Unicorns on LinkedIn here. Subscribe to the Riding Unicorns YouTube channel here. This episode sees James Pringle and Hector Mason sit down with Staffan Helgesson, General Partner of Creandum. Creandum is one of Europe's top early stage investors focused on Seed and Series A across a …
…
continue reading

1
Dialed Podcast 361 - Sodium Bicarbonate? Current training mode? Time to ditch the TT bike? There was a lot of HOT stuff to talk about, so have a listen and enjoy the podcast!
1:24:25
1:24:25
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:24:25Send us a text Rowena Rubaix road race recap, training strategies for masters athletes, and WorldTour classics. We also discuss why durability matters more than FTP, and if sodium bicarbonate is worth the hype. Episode 361 also includes some hot seat training insights, a challenge for listeners to send in questions, and some discussion about ditchi…
…
continue reading