Beneath the surface of many everyday products lies a complex web of ethical dilemmas. In this powerful conversation, entrepreneur and investor Ryan Ansin peels back the curtain on global supply chains and the moral questions behind them. From chocolate and diamonds to blockchain transparency, he shares what ethical manufacturing really entails and how even simple choices carry weight. The episode also explores how to raise grounded children, the role of impact investing, and why major corporations must evolve for real change to happen. This discussion challenges the idea you to think about ethics, offering a roadmap for aligning values with action across business, family, and capital.

⏱️ Chapter Markers

00:00 – Introduction: Meet Ryan Ansin

01:00 – Defining Ethical Manufacturing

03:20 – Chocolate & Child Labor: A Case Study

06:00 – Diamonds, Supply Chains & Transparency

09:00 – Who Really Drives Change: Startups or Giants?

12:00 – Consumers vs. Regulators: What Sparks Reform?

14:00 – Blockchain & The Future of Supply Chain Tracking

15:00 – Ryan's Journey into Social Entrepreneurship

18:00 – Family Legacy & Ethical Business Foundations

24:00 – Is Ethical Living a Privilege or a Choice?

26:00 – Grandfather Wisdom: Helping the Helpers

30:00 – Giraffes, Accountability & Courage in Business

31:00 – Wealth, Responsibility & Raising Grounded Kids

37:00 – Teaching Grit Through Friction & Curiosity

40:00 – Final Thoughts: Aligning Impact with Action

Links

• Interplay: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter
• Book: Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think
• MPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

This week’s episode explores one of the most pressing challenges early-stage startups face: competing against well-funded incumbents. We cover how startups can beat giants by focusing on niche markets, iterating fast, building emotional brands, and providing world-class customer experiences. This is the ultimate guide for founders navigating a David vs. Goliath scenario. Whether you’re bootstrapping or just closed your seed round, these tactics will give you the edge. A friendly heads up - this episode is our season closer before we take a pod break for the summer. Thanks for listening and enjoy your summer - we’ll be back from a new studio, recharged and ready to roll.

⏱️ Chapter Markers

00:00 – Intro and Summer Break Announcement

01:00 – Why Competing with Big Players is Tough But Doable

02:30 – Foundational Assumptions Before Competing

04:00 – Strategy #1: Own Your Niche

06:00 – Strategy #2: Move Fast and Iterate Faster

08:30 – Strategy #3: Build a Brand People Want to Root For

10:00 – Emotional Branding Examples: Slack, Duolingo, Superhuman

12:00 – Strategy #4: Win on Customer Experience

13:30 – Recap of the Underdog Playbook

14:00 – Final Thoughts and Farewell Until After Summer

Links

• Interplay: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter
• Book: The Fundraising Rules
• MPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

Outsourcing isn't new — but the way startups can use it today has radically changed. On this week’s ep, I sat down with Shaun Walker, CEO of Spoke, to unpack what business process outsourcing (BPO) can look like for high-growth startups in 2025.

Let me say this upfront: most early - stage founders are missing out. Outsourcing isn’t just about slashing costs - it’s about building operational leverage and unlocking global talent pools in a way that accelerates your entire business.

Spoke’s model stands out because it focuses on fully embedded, dedicated teams that feel like extensions of your startup - they're engaged team members motivated to help you hit your milestones.

Whether it’s customer support, finance, data operations, or even engineering, there’s a strategic opportunity here. Especially in today’s hybrid and AI-enhanced world, Shaun argues that outsourcing can be a “bionic” function — letting you scale up or down with flexibility, access talent faster, and focus your internal team on what truly matters.

If you're a founder thinking about how to stretch your funding and build operational leverage, this is a must-listen. Hope it helps you navigate your own growth journey.

🕒 Chapter Markers

00:00 – Intro & Welcome

01:10 – What Spoke Does Differently in BPO

03:00 – Human-Centric Approach to Outsourcing

05:00 – Why Not Hire Offshore Directly?

07:00 – Building Embedded Global Teams

08:00 – Why Founders Miss BPO Opportunities

10:00 – When to Consider Outsourcing

12:00 – How Spoke Supports Startups

14:00 – The Cost vs. Strategic Advantage Debate

17:00 – Global Talent Quality and Motivation

19:00 – BPO as a Bionic Growth Function

21:00 – Helping Startups with U.S. Hiring Too

22:00 – High-Skill Roles & No Upper Limit

26:00 – AI’s Role in the Future of Outsourcing

28:00 – When Outsourcing Doesn’t Work

32:00 – Final Thoughts & Wrap-Up

• Shaun Walker: LinkedIn
• Spoke: Website
• Interplay: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter
• Book: The Fundraising Rules