A FIKR PODCAST · 03 · LAUNCHING SOON

The Trenches —
the cost of building.

The conversations no one has. The struggles everyone hides.

Burnout. Loneliness. Breakdowns. Co-founder breakups. Marriages that didn’t survive scaling. Depression that didn’t end with the exit. The dark side of building, on the record.

Apply to become the host→

Weekly conversations

Founders · investors · operators

Borderless by design

Launching soon

// Trigger warning · this show discusses mental health, depression, suicide, addiction, divorce, and other heavy topics. Resources at the end of every episode.

01 — Why this show needs to exist

The crisis is real, dataset-validated, and under-served.

Most coverage of founder life is the highlight reel — the raise, the launch, the exit. The Trenches starts with what the data actually says about what it costs to be the person inside that highlight reel.

73%

Of tech founders are burned out — and 68% are hiding it

// CEREVITY 2025

More likely to suffer depression than the general population

// Freeman, UCSF

65%

Of high-potential startups fail because of co-founder conflict

// Wasserman, HBS

1 in 3

Founders divorce — roughly 2x the general population

// University of California

02 — What we’ll talk about

The conversations you’ll actually hear.

Six territories. Twenty-plus episodes already mapped. Each one a real conversation with a founder, operator, investor, or partner who lived through it — on the record, with their name on it. The territory the show covers, in plain words.

// Burnout & mental health

The interior reality of building

The 3am Panic Attack
The Loneliness
I Thought About Quitting

// Co-founders & team

When the people closest to you become the breaking point

I Fired My Co-Founder
Imposter at My Own Company

// Marriage & personal cost

What building takes from home

My Marriage Ended
The Depression After Exit

// Fundraising trauma

The pitches you don’t recover from

200 No’s Before One Yes
When Your Investor Ghosts
The LP Pressure

// Investor honesty

The cameras-off truth from the cap table

Why I Passed on [Unicorn]
Red Flags I Ignore
My Worst Investment
The Founders I Wish I Backed

// The system itself

Where the startup machine produces the breakdowns

Accelerator Theater
Demo Day Theater
Toxic Term Sheets
The Ecosystem Gatekeepers

03 — Be First

First episode drops soon.

We’re recording the first 6 episodes before public launch. The first 100 waitlist members get an early-access link to the pilot, plus a private email thread with the host where you can suggest guests, topics, and stories you want told.

The pilot drops to the waitlist before Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.

If you’re going through any of this — or you watched someone close to you go through it — drop your email. We’ll send you the first episode the moment it lands.

One email when the show launches. Zero spam. Easy unsubscribe.