Building a startup ecosystem takes more than funding and an impressive innovation hub. Jonathan Greechan, co-founder of Founder Institute, joins Ian Bergman to explain why government-backed startup programs stall and how to build a steady pipeline of founders with real customer validation.They explore why experienced professionals are well positioned to become solo founders, how AI is changing the skills entrepreneurs need, and why investment should follow evidence rather than a polished pitch deck.

Enjoying the conversation? Discover more stories of innovation and transformation at https://www.alchemist.vc/podcasts and explore how today’s leaders are shaping the future.

Are you building a product people like, or one they will actually pay for?

Madhavan Ramanujam, co-founder and general partner at 49 Palms Ventures, joins Ian Bergman to explain why pricing should start before product development and how founders can reach product-market-price fit.

Learn how to test willingness to pay, turn POCs into business cases, price AI around autonomy and attribution, and choose between seat, credit, usage, and outcome-based pricing. Madhavan also explains how to balance market share with wallet share, raise prices without losing sight of value, and why an MVP should focus on what customers value most.

Madhavan’s Books:

Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price

Scaling Innovation: How Smart Companies Architect Profitable Growth

Topics & Timestamps

00:00 Pricing Before Product

06:20 Why Products Fail to Monetize

11:30 Product-Market-Price Fit

13:14 How to Test Willingness to Pay

16:09 POCs Should Prove Business Value

18:34 Pricing AI Around Labor Value

22:48 Why How You Charge Matters

24:20 AI Pricing Models Explained

34:27 Beautifully Simple Pricing

36:15 How to Raise Prices

40:32 Rethinking the MVP

43:00 Four Monetization Failure Modes

44:40 Building 49 Palms Ventures

50:17 Scaling Innovation in the AI Age

Enjoying the conversation?

Discover more stories of innovation and transformation at https://www.alchemistaccelerator.com/podcasts and explore how today’s leaders are shaping the future.

Why do some transformation efforts take hold while others require constant pushing?

Jennifer Charbonneau, SVP Operations and Supply Chain @ Cache Energy, shares what she learned leading innovation, AI adoption, safety, and organizational change inside complex, high-stakes environments.

Learn how to build trust and buy-in, turn small wins into momentum, choose AI projects based on business value, and create room for experimentation without ignoring risk. Jennifer also explains why successful transformation starts with people, not technology, and what her move from a major energy company to long-duration energy storage taught her about moving faster.

Topics & Timestamps

00:00 Making Transformation Real

03:15 Leading Change Differently

09:02 Lessons From Innovation and Safety

14:00 Why Transformation Breaks Down

19:04 Innovating Without Ignoring Risk

24:57 Why AI Pilots Fail

29:55 AI Plus Human Expertise

34:02 Building Change Around People

39:12 Rapid Fire

41:11 Lessons From the Journey

Connect with Jennifer Charbonneau:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-charbonneau-75018b14a/

Learn more about Cache Energy:

https://cacheenergy.com/

Cache Energy on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/cache-energy/

Connect with Ian Bergman:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianbergman/

Enjoying the conversation?

Discover more stories of innovation and transformation at alchemistaccelerator.com/podcasts — and explore how today’s leaders are shaping the future.