Technology should serve humans during the moments that matter most in our lives. 

I co-founded Vera to help families care for their ageing parents. After building products and teams at Google and Airtasker and advising and investing in numerous startups, I am applying my experience to solve this massive, often overlooked, problem. 

As well as my work at Vera, I co-host The Startup Podcast. TSP aims to provide actionable advice to founders looking to build a Silicon Valley-style startup, wherever they are in the world.

Meet Vera: https://vera.guide

Listen to The Startup Podcast: https://tsp.show


*My connection policy (tl;dr don't sell me stuff)*

I like to use LinkedIn as a way of building a community of interesting and interested people in technology and the technology industry. If you are:

-A software developer, product manager, designer, marketer anywhere in the world
-An organisational leader or manager in engineering or at a tech company
-Otherwise heavily involved in the tech industry

I'd be happy to connect! Even if we haven't met.

Even if you're not one of those things I'm probably happy to connect, as long as you don't immediately turn around and try to sell me something. If you do, I consider that a breach of trust and will block and report you.

Yaniv Bernstein

Sunday night. I'm on a plane, making multiple nontrivial changes to my product using Claude Code Web.

Don't listen to the haters, we live in an age of miracles.

Helping people care for ageing parents | The Startup Podcast

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I had a beer with one of Australia's best founders on Friday night, running a 9-figure company that will become a unicorn in the nearish future.

He was late, and sent me a text: "I have to wait for my agents to finish."

Ten minutes later, he showed up to the pub with an open laptop. "I figured I would just bring my agents with me". Every couple of minutes he would glance over at the screen to see what they were up to.

I wasn't mad. I understood. After all, I had kicked off two changes on Claude Code Web on my phone while I had been waiting.

Everybody is entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. And here is a fact:

Every one of the best CEOs, CTOs, and business leaders I know is spending more time building than they have in years. They are AI-pilled, they are obsessed, and they are LOVING IT.

I've been in this game for 20 years now, and this does feel different. The way startups work is changing, and the change is coming from the top, driven by founders who have rediscovered the joy of building.

LinkedIn took away my 🤖 emoji, so I've updated my profile picture to include my little robot friend.

There's a club that more than 10% of Australians are members of...

...yet nobody talks about it.

...most of the members don't even know they've joined.

...and like the Hotel California, members can check out any time you like, but they can never leave.

It's Club Sandwich, the club for folks in the sandwich generation: juggling, work, kids, and ageing parents.

At Vera, Melissa and I are incredibly proud to have created the Club Sandwich podcast and community, hosted by the incomparable Sarah Macdonald.

Serious topics, discussed with warmth and humour by Sarah and our wonderful group of "Clubbers". 

Episode 1 dropped today, and is SO good. Get it in your ears now!

We're back baby!

After a couple of months off, The Startup Podcast is fresh in your feeds for 2026. With AI upending everything in startups, the discussions we are having with some of the best startup folks in the world are more important than ever.

Thanks to our marvellous sponsors .TECH Domains and Vanta for making this season possible.

Still reading? Why are you still here? Go get it in your ears now!

I know a number of you are jonesing for the 2026 season of The Startup Podcast to start.

Not long now! But in the meantime, here's a fun conversation I had with the marvellous Scotty Allen 🚌 on The Bootstrap- Startups from Scratch Podcast about what I've learned so far about building a startup in the AI era.

Tomorrow's episode of The Startup Podcast is with a founder who's started 10+ companies out of Silicon Valley, went through YC, was mentored by Paul Graham and Sam Altman, and regularly sits in rooms with Fortune 500 CEOs and unicorn founders.

She told me that this is the wildest time she has ever seen in Silicon Valley.

A few things we talked about:

The private anxiety among successful people in SF is the highest she's ever seen. 

She has a single interview question that she says now matters more than anything else on a candidate's resume.

She personally shows up at CEOs' offices and gives them three hours to build a working app. No delegating.

She told me why the era of loud, self-promoting founders raising big rounds is giving way to something much quieter.

Drops tomorrow. You do not want to miss it (trust me).

Chris Saad

I build Strategies, Products, Messages, Brands, Ecosystems, Marketplaces, and Startups.

After 25 years of building high-growth companies in Australia and Silicon Valley, I've developed deep expertise in several areas, including…

- General Startups Dynamics
I have built and run a series of great startups. Most as CEO, all as co-founder. I work with founders to help them understand all the fundamental patterns and processes required to build a successful product-led, high-growth, venture-backed company.
 
Angel & VC fundraising
I have raised and invested money as a Startup founder and an angel investor. I’ve developed and read countless investor pitch decks. I apply that experience to create compelling stories that drive investor conviction.

- Business Strategy
I’ve built business strategies across B2B, B2C, B2B2C, and Developer Platforms. Choosing the right model can mean the difference between middling success and break-out disruption. I help founders think outside the box to create models that power true disruption.
 
- Org and culture design
I’ve helped many companies re-design their org chart, ways of working, cultural values, and product principles to minimize dysfunction and maximize efficient execution. I help execs organize the team for maximum autonomy and accountability at the edge while maintaining alignment with the core business strategy.
 
- Product strategy
I’ve been involved in the conception of hundreds of products across a diverse range of industries and personas. Building great products involves a careful combination of art and science. I help founders translate their vision into elevated yet actionable product strategies.

- Product management and design
I’ve managed the development of countless products and product teams. I help accelerate the development of roadmaps, product designs, self-serve onboarding flows, retention strategies, viral loops, and more.
 
- Developer platforms & ecosystems
Having built a platform from 0 to 85 Billion API calls a month (Echo) and served as the Head of Product for the Uber Developer Platform, I am one of the few leaders who have built and run a developer platform at scale. I help supercharge traditional product and engineering teams to design products that developers love.
 
- Two-sided and on-demand marketplaces
Having worked at Uber and several other on-demand marketplaces, I have extensive experience building two-sided marketplaces. I help product and ops teams solve the cold start problem, design self-reinforcing marketplace dynamics, build systems that manage reputation and trust, and more.

Startup Advisor

I’ve set aside some time to work with just a few companies to help them fast-forward to the future.

My areas of expertise include product strategy and management, building and optimizing 2-sided marketplaces, fundraising, designing orgs to scale, and developer platforms & ecosystems.

I’ve helped companies from the very earliest stages all the way to large scaleups and enterprises including Cake, Swyftx, Agora, Immutable, Tritium, Decathlon and more. 

Drop me a line at me@chrissaad.com if you're curious to learn more. Please be sure to include information about what you’re working on and the kind of challenges or opportunities you’re facing at the moment.

Learn more at http://chrissaad.com/advisory/

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Yaniv Bernstein

Chris Saad

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taplio

The Battle

Yaniv Bernstein

Chris Saad

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Yaniv Bernstein's LinkedIn Performance

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