In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Venture Partner Patrick Ennis sits down with Varun Puri and Esha Joshi, co-founders of Yoodli, an AI-powered communications coach helping people become more confident speakers. Varun and Esha share their leap from Big Tech into startup life, eating noodles on secondhand couches while chasing a bold mission: making effective communication accessible to everyone. They dive into: The origin story behind Yoodli, (and where the name came from!) How AI roleplays bring "exposure therapy" to speaking practice. Use cases ranging from sales training to doctors having end-of-life conversations. The decision to build in Seattle vs. SF with support from Madrona and AI2. Co-founder dynamics, culture-first hiring, and why they turned down a famous Silicon Valley VC. This is a must-listen for any founder building with AI, thinking about culture-first scaling, or just wanting to speak with more confidence. Full Transcript: https://www.madrona.com/redefining-communication-yoodli-ai-roleplays Chapters:

– Introduction

– The "Why" Behind Yoodli

– Why AI & Why Now

– Who Uses Yoodli?

– Building a Category: AI Role Plays

– The Real Story Behind the Name "Yoodli"

– Early Team & Company Building

– Seattle vs. Silicon Valley

– Turning Down a Famous VC

– Co-Founders: The Power of Two

– Building Confidence as First-Time Founders

– Scaling the Team & Culture

– Seattle's Talent Pool & Startup Ecosystem

– Hiring Values

– Customer Feedback & Boundaries

– Lessons Learned as Founders