Build Mode

This season on Build Mode, we’re breaking down what it really takes to build a world-class team and that starts with hiring the right people the first time. 

This week, we’re joined by Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mappa, a behavioral intelligence platform that uses voice AI to decode human behavior in under 60 seconds. After rebuilding teams over and over again early in her career, Sarah set out to answer the question: why do “great on paper” candidates fail to flourish after their hired? 

In this episode, she explains how Mapa analyzes thousands of voice biomarkers, from speech patterns to linguistic signals, to build behavioral profiles and match candidates based on compatibility, not just the on-paper credentials. They help their clients make the right hired the first time, saving crucial time and money. 

She breaks down: 

• Why most hiring decisions are still a gamble • Compatibility vs. similarity (and why it matters) • How voice biomarkers reveal behavioral traits • How to reduce bias without lowering the bar • How founders should think about building aligned teams 

Whether you’re hiring your first employee or scaling a fast-growing startup, this episode will change the way you think about talent, team dynamics, and what it really means to be a “fit.”  

Chapters: 

00:00 – Why great hires still fail 00:47 – Meet Sarah Lucena (Founder & CEO, Mappa) 01:39 – What Mappa does: voice → behavioral intelligence 04:22 – Why voice (not video) is the best signal 06:03 – The proprietary dataset & real-life outcomes 12:30 – Mapping companies, not just candidates 14:27 – Compatibility vs. similarity 16:10 – Bias, diversity & better hiring signals 23:53 – Expanding beyond hiring (VCs, finance, insurance) 30:16 – Using Mappa to evaluate investors 33:02 – Building Mappa’s own team 35:49 – Founder advice: patience, compatibility & lawyers 39:16 – Startup Battlefield experience 41:29 – Outro 

New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

Build Mode is back. This season we’re breaking down what it really takes to build a world-class founding team starting with your cap table, equity structures, and startup compensation strategy. 

We kick off with Yuri Sagalov, managing director at General Catalyst and former founder, YC partner, and seed investor at Wayfinder Ventures. Yuri has worked with hundreds of pre-seed and seed-stage startups, and he shares practical advice on how early-stage founders should think about startup equity, cap table design, investor selection, and compensation structures from day one. 

He breaks down: 


The 3 types of investors (and which one to avoid) 


Why your cap table is part of your team 


The 20–25% seed dilution rule 


How to split equity with a co-founder 


How to talk to early employees about risk and compensation 

No matter where you are in your startup journey, this episode will help you get the incentive structure right from the beginning.  

Chapters: 

00:00 - Why your first hires deserve more equity 00:31 - Meet Yuri Sagalov (YC → General Catalyst) 02:12 - Your cap table is part of your team 02:50 - The 3 types of investors (avoid this one) 05:02 - How to split equity with a co-founder 07:55 - How much equity to give early employees 09:37 - How to talk compensation and risk 12:31 - Red flags in formation docs and vesting 18:27 - Advisors for equity? Usually a mistake 20:05 - The 20–25% seed dilution rule 26:03 - The shift to 10-year stock options 34:11 - Don’t scale before product-market fit 39:23 - Final advice: Just start and choose your co-founder carefully 

New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

It takes a village to build something great. In Season 2 of Build Mode, we go deep on how to assemble a founding team that signals ambition, execution, and long-term success. Founders and investors share candid lessons on hiring, structuring, and scaling teams that actually win. New episodes coming February 19.

n the season finale of Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Paul Irving, Partner and COO of GTMfund, to discuss go-to-market strategies for the AI era. Paul shares specific, actionable advice on how early-stage startups can win even when facing well-funded competitors who iterate at lightning speed. He also explains why distribution has become the final remaining moat when technical advantages disappear in months instead of years, and why every company needs a unique go-to-market motion tailored to their specific ICP. 

If you just can’t get enough AI-native GTM strategies, check out this episode of the GTMnow podcast: Build your AI Outbound Machine with ChatGPT 

Chapters:  

00:00 Intro 

00:44 Meet Paul Irving - GTM Fund 

04:02 Finding Competitive Edge in Specific Channels 

07:34 Matching Operators to Startups with AI 

12:08 The End of the B2B SaaS Playbook Era 

14:09 Creative GTM Strategies 

16:18 The Power of Warm Introduction Mapping 

23:04 Success Stories: Ryder and Vanta 

25:25 Red Flags in Go-to-Market Strategy 

27:29 Advice for Resource-Constrained Founders 

31:22 When to Start Hiring a GTM Team 

34:57 Outro 

Isabelle Johannessen is our host. Build Mode is produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience Development is led by Morgan Little. And a special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

We're bringing you a special TechCrunch podcast crossover episode. Isabelle joins Equity Hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Rebecca Bellan to dissect the year's biggest tech developments, from mega AI funding rounds that defied expectations to the rise of "physical AI," and make their calls for 2026. 

The group tackled everything from why AI agents didn't live up to the hype in 2025 (but probably will in 2026), to how Hollywood will push back against AI-generated content, to why VCs are facing a serious liquidity crisis.  

Listen to the full episode to hear: 

Why world models are the next big thing in AI and how they're different from large language models 

The death of "stealth mode" for AI startups and the rise of alternative funding sources 

Predictions on regulatory chaos around AI policy and what Trump's recent executive order means for startups 

Hot takes on IPOs: Will OpenAI and Anthropic actually go public in 2026? 

Rapid-fire predictions including Johnny Ive and Sam Altman's inevitable public breakup, the return of dumb phones, and why everyone will be calling themselves "AI native" 

What's coming in Build Mode season 2: A deep dive into team building, hiring, and finding co-founders 

Chapters:

00:00 Intro - TechCrunch Build Mode & Equity Crossover Episode

00:27 Meet the Hosts - Predictions Episode Introduction

02:49 Reviewing 2024 Predictions - The Mega Funding Rounds

05:40 AI Startup Funding Challenges and Alternative Capital Sources

08:05 2026 AI Predictions - World Models and the Next Evolution

12:41 Physical AI - The Intersection of Robotics and Intelligence

14:07 AI in Media and Content Creation

18:48 Netflix-Warner Brothers Deal and FTC Predictions

21:09 The LP Direct Investment Trend

23:26 IPOs and Deep Tech Capital Challenges

25:49 Startup Battlefield Trends - Verticalized AI Across Industries

28:08 Rapid Fire Predictions - Fashion, Self-Driving Cars, and More

30:25 The Dumb Phone Comeback and Foldable iPhones

32:51 Build Mode Season 2 Preview - People and Team Building

New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Isabelle Johannessen is our host. Build Mode is produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience Development is led by Morgan Little. And a special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.