This Much I Know - The Seedcamp Podcast

Eric Ries's The Lean Startup method is undeniably one of the most influential writings published on entrepreneurship in the last decade. It gave a whole generation of founders a new way to build - and made 'pivot' a household word.

Now he's tackling an even harder subject: why do so many great companies eventually betray everything they stood for? And what can founders do to stop it?

In his new book Incorruptible, Ries argues that governance is the most powerful and most underappreciated force in business. In this conversation with Carlos, they get into why shareholder primacy destroys brands, why the tools to resist that pressure already exist, and why most founders give away the thing that matters most.

We knew Pari Singh was special when he walked into Seedcamp at 21 and told us that he could design rockets faster than anyone in the world.

Fast forward nine years, and Flow Engineering is now the operating system for the next generation of physical engineering, relied on by the likes of EV giant Rivian.

We sat down with Pari to break down why the industry is at an inflection point, why the biggest threat to legacy manufacturers isn't technology but culture, and why he believes the vast majority of physical engineering work will be automated by AI within the year.

We also get into what separates elite engineering teams from average ones, and the single most important characteristic he hires for.

James Kuht MBE has spent 15 years working on what happens when powerful technology meets the messiness of real organisations.  He's learned that developing the technology is rarely the hard part - the hard part is getting people to use it in a way that makes strategic sense for the organisation.

That experience is what led him to found Pair. Pair are building the AI adoption layer for enterprise. Companies have poured billions into AI infrastructure, but without role-specific training, most employees never move beyond individual tinkering, resulting in expensive licenses, underwhelming results, and disillusioned leadership teams.

We're thrilled to have invested in Pair's latest seed round, alongside Venrex and FJ Labs. As partner Carlos Espinal puts it: "They turn AI from a generic tool into real, role-specific productivity."

Carlos sat down with founder James Kuht MBE, to discuss what it actually takes to get organisations to adopt AI effectively - and why most still get it wrong.

In the latest Seedcamp Deep Dive, our Managing Partner, Carlos Eduardo Espinal, discusses the complexities of investing in deeptech, dual-use and the defence sector. He's joined by two distinguished guests from defence and investment backgrounds: Nicola Sinclair, General Partner at Twin Track Ventures, and Samuel Burrell, Partner at Expeditions Fund.

Nicola begins the conversation by explaining her motivation for founding Twin Track, highlighting the need to connect startups with the defence and security sectors and detailing her approach to evaluating deep tech investments. Sam then discusses his transition from military service to venture capital and emphasizes the importance of understanding end-user needs in defense tech investments.

This insightful conversation covers a wide range of topics, including:
- The challenges of dual-use technologies
- The role of prime contractors
- The evolving geopolitical landscape
- Investment opportunities in space technology
- The future of defence tech investments

Show Notes:

Nicola Sinclair - linkedin.com/in/nicola-sinclair-

Samuel Burrell - linkedin.com/in/samuelrburrell

Carlos Eduardo Espinal - linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

Twin Track Ventures - twintrack.vc

Expeditions Fund - expeditionsfund.com

Seedcamp - seedcamp.com

Sam’s weekly newsletter This Week in Dual-Use [www.samuelburrell.com]

“Working with Defence & Security” Survey. The results will be released on 14 November 2025

In the latest episode of This Much I Know, our Managing Partner, Carlos Espinal and Nandan Nayampally, Chief Commercial Officer of Baya Systems (previously at ARM, Amazon and AMD), delve into the geopolitics and innovations within the semiconductor industry.

Nandan shares his extensive career journey from AMD to ARM and Amazon, providing valuable insights into the evolution of the semiconductor industry. He also emphasizes the shift towards specialized IP designs and the global distribution of manufacturing.

The conversation explores the impact of geopolitical factors on the chip industry, the rise of localized manufacturing, supply chain resilience and the future implications of AI and edge technology. Tune in!

Show Notes:
Nandan Nayampally - linkedin.com/in/nandannayampally
Carlos Espinal - linkedin.com/in/carloseduardoespinal

Baya Systems - bayasystems.com
Seedcamp - seedcamp.com