First Builders
The First Builders Podcast from The Council dives into the stories of those who go first—founders, funders, and early operators who helped build category-defining companies before they were household names. Hosted by General Partner Amber Illig and Partner Rachel Tsui, each episode brings a candid, practical conversation with someone who has helped shape companies before there was a playbook.
Episodes
9 episodes
From Medicine to Market: Danish Nagda on Breaking In and Building Boldly
How does a doctor become a startup founder? Danish Nagda, Co-Founder & CEO of Rezilient, joins First Builders to share his journey from the hospital floor to reimagining how care is delivered for high-risk patients.Da...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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53:25
The Founder’s Pivot: How Cecilia Ziniti Went from GC to Leading in AI
What does it take to go from General Counsel to AI founder? In this episode of First Builders, Cecilia Ziniti—CEO of GC AI and former GC at multiple high-growth companies—joins Amber and Rachel to unpack how her legal and operat...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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43:48
Sober, Solo, and Scaling: Koby Conrad on Building Sunflower from the Ground Up
What happens when a high-growth operator turns founder—and builds a company rooted in personal mission? Koby Conrad, solo founder and CEO of Sunflower, joins First Builders to share his journey from Rupa Health’s go-to-market lead to cre...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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46:32
IPO-Level Bets: Dan Perez on Building Hinge Health from Zero to $400M ARR
Dan Perez is no stranger to high-stakes decisions. From walking away from an Oxford PhD program to scaling a digital health company through one of the most successful IPOs in recent years, Dan’s story is a masterclass in vision, convicti...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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47:43
Founders, Firestarters, and First Principles: A Month of First Builders
In this July 4th special, we’re taking a quick pause from new interviews to celebrate the sparks that launched First Builders. This 20-minute highlight reel brings together some of the most powerful moments from our first month of guests.
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Season 1
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6:42
The Builder Behind the IPO: Maia Bittner on Founding Pinch and Scaling Chime
In this episode, we sit down with Maia Bittner—a three-time founder, angel investor, and early team member at Chime—to explore the arc of a builder’s journey from zero to IPO. Maia shares how she co-founded Pinch to improve financial sta...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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57:54
From Engineer to Rebel CEO: Jason Prestinario on Fighting for Patient Rights
In this episode, we sit down with Jason Prestinario—Particle Health CEO of and former leader at Komodo Heath and Palantir Technologies —for a candid conversation about building in one of the most complex and regulated sectors in the worl...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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51:12
The Media Operator’s Mindset: Nathan Baschez on Substack, Virality, and Building Ideas in Public
In this episode, we sit down with Nathan Baschez—founder of Lex, former co-founder of Every, founding team at Substack, and creator of Divinations—to unpack how he thinks about building internet-native businesses. Nathan shares the operating pr...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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55:01
The First Builder Archetype: Rohini Pandhi on Product, Platforms, and the Path to Venture
In this episode, we’re joined by Rohini Pandhi—Head of Expansion at Mercury, former product leader at Square (Block), and current partner at Transparent Collective. We explore how Rohini identified Square and Mercury early on as accelera...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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47:32
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