July 2026 roundup
Female founder meetups, BBQs, our 100th podcast episode, plus top articles and podcasts
We’re halfway through the year, and it’s been a busy spring and summer full of events aimed at helping you build and lead better. Plus, we reached a milestone with our podcast.
For those who are new, Not Another CEO is the #1 place for founders and CEOs to grow themselves and their companies. Below is a recap of what we’ve been up to recently.
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Table of contents
We published our 100th podcast episode
Recent social events
Recent masterclasses
Top articles
Top podcasts
We published our 100th podcast episode
Two years ago, David started the Not Another CEO podcast to help the next generation of founders and CEOs. In May, we published our 100th episode. In this special episode, David pulls his favorite moments from the first 99 episodes. It’s packed full of lessons that hold up no matter what stage your company is in.
Recent social events
Dinner for Women Founders
Biometrics expert Frances Zelazny, who’s been recognized in the Women in Fintech Powerlist 100, hosted a group of women founders for an open and intimate dinner near Flatiron. They discussed the hard decisions, the moments you don’t see coming, and things they’d do differently.
Founders Club New York BBQ
Community member Stony Grunow hosted a BBQ in his backyard. The group gathered for food and drinks and discussed everything from cybersecurity to building for the creator economy.
OpenClaw Workshop
David Tabachnikov, Co-Founder and CEO of ScholarshipOwl and former Google engineer, hosted a hands-on OpenClaw workshop for founders. The group learned how to install OpenClaw on their own hardware and make genuinely useful agents. We’ve done a few of these events, and it’s always fun to see non-technical founders break new ground.
Founders Club New York Dinner: Pivoting – War Stories and Lessons Learned
I hosted a small dinner where we focused the discussion on pivoting. We had founders show up who were actively going through a pivot, facing a potential one, and ones who had recently come out the other side. I’ll be sharing an article about this topic soon. Make sure you subscribe to get notified when it’s published.
Recent masterclasses
Engaging Your Audience as a Founder/CEO
Executive coach Mark Dannenberg shares the method he’s used in 15+ years of helping founders show up with authentic presence, calm confidence, and genuine authority. His unique angle draws on the skills he learned in theatre.
Check out the related article: Your pitch is forgettable, here’s why.
10 Truths from 100 CEOs with 1,000 Years of Experience
David distilled ten timeless truths from conversations with 100+ CEOs representing a combined 1,000 years of building companies. He covered patterns that showed up across storytelling, values, hiring, staying close to customers, and managing investors.
Six Patterns of Startup Failure
I spoke to a group of 25 pre-seed founders as part of the Founders in Residence Program at Afore Capital in San Francisco. I shared the Six Patterns of Startup Failure, based on my own experiences, our conversations with founders and CEOs at Not Another CEO, and my work coaching founders going through, grappling with, and trying to avoid failure.
If you’re a founder just getting started, I recommend checking out Afore Capital’s Founder in Residence Program.
Check out our related article: 6 patterns that kill startups (and how to overcome them)
Top articles
The no bullshit guide to knowing who your top performers are
David shares 15 traits separating top from bottom performers, from how they handle feedback to how they push through obstacles. He closes with what to do once you spot one: do everything you can to keep them.
Fake it or don’t, there is no middle way
I break down what taking venture capital actually commits you to once you cross that threshold. The article covers the trade-offs: massive vision, embracing competition, steep growth targets, an all-A-player team, and the personal toll it takes. I also share my personal advice: be intentional before raising, don’t just default to that option.
8 account-based marketing ideas that cut through the noise
Drawing from his own experience, David presents eight tactics for reaching enterprise buyers who ignore everything else. From personalized gifts and once-in-a-lifetime experiences to confidential roundtables and letting prospects pick their own event.
Top podcasts
Better to be fast than to be right (with Jess Lin, Co-Founder of Work-Bench)
Jess explains how she decides to back founders fast. She says investors form conviction within the first five minutes, and interestingly, revenue is no longer the main signal. She argues the best founders are truly obsessed with the problem they’re aiming to solve. This is a must-listen for anyone raising or evaluating deals.
Check out our related article: The first 5 minutes of an investor meeting are everything.
How it was game over for Guidewire until it wasn’t (with Marcus Ryu, General Partner at Battery Ventures)
Marcus shares how he built Guidewire from zero into a public business generating $1.5B+ in revenue with just $29M raised. He covers learning to sell as a founder and navigating investor pressure and competitor lawsuits along the way. He also unpacks the emotional toll of running a company for nearly 20 years.
The seven deadly sins of founders that destroy companies (with Michael Loeb, entrepreneur and former Founder, CEO, and President of Synapse Group)
David sits down with Michael Loeb, Co-Founder of Synapse Group and Founder of Loeb Enterprises, for Episode #101. Michael maps out the character flaws that predictably destroy founders, drawing on 35 years of building, backing, and burying companies. He also covers how to spot real entrepreneurial DNA early, and why sociopaths and charm show up so often in startup culture.
Sign up for future events
We host dinners, masterclasses, and meetups across the country. They’re some of the best ways to connect with other CEOs facing the same things you are. We hope you’ll join us!