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
2 episodes
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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