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Hosted by The Council · 🇺🇸 US · EN-US · 38 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
The First Builders Podcast from The Council dives into the stories of those who go first—founders, funders, and early operators who helped build category-defining companies before they were household names. Hosted by General Partner Amber Illig and Partner Rachel Tsui, each episode brings a candid, practical conversation with someone who has helped shape companies before there was a playbook.
The Council hosts First Builders, a business show with 38 episodes published.
We're wrapping up season 1 of First Builders and giving you a sneak preview of what we are planning for Season 2! Thank you for joining us as we dove into how First Builders become the best founders. FOLLOW AMBER ILLIG:
No guest. No script. Just Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui, General Partner and Partner at The Council Capital, sitting down to share what they have been observing across the portfolio, the fundraising market, and the broader
Georgia Rust is the Creation Engine Product Lead at Figma, where she leads the team behind generative AI plugins, shaders, design systems, and the core canvas capabilities that over ten thousand designers flew to Config
Kristina Subbotina is the founder and CEO of Lexsy, an AI-powered legal operating system built for startups and the venture funds that back them. After nearly a decade inside the system, clerking for a federal judge on t
In this episode of First Builders, Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Wyatt Stokesberry, Co-Founder and CEO of Molli Health. Wyatt spent years inside the health insurance machine, rising from early employee to Exe
In this episode of First Builders , Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui talk with Kyle McAllister , Co-founder and CEO of Trially, about what it really looks like to build inside the clinical trial ecosystem. Kyle shares how his
In this episode of First Builders , Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Meagan Gamache , VP of Product at Render, to explore what it really means to build products for the people who build everything else. Meagan s
In this episode of First Builders , Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Zane Hengsperger , Founder and CEO of Nox Metals, an AI-powered metal supplier building automated factories in Detroit. Zane grew up around ma
In this episode of First Builders, Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Eliana Berger, Co-Founder and CEO of Joyful Health, following the company’s recent $22M raise and rapid growth. Joyful Health began with a simp
In this episode of First Builders, Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Tina Hwang, Head of Legal at ClassDojo, whose career spans some of the most consequential moments in modern tech. From Google’s rise to WhatsAp
In this episode of First Builders , Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Siran Cao , Co-Founder and CEO of Mirza, a company simplifying how families access public benefits. Inspired by her childhood navigating fragm
In this episode of First Builders , hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Duanni Hurd , Founder and CEO of Starlight Caregivers, to explore what it really takes to build and sustain a business in one of the mos
In this episode of First Builders , hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Filip Aronshtein , Founder and CEO of Dirac, to unpack what it takes to create software for the physical world and why assembly, not jus
In this episode of First Builders , hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Lina Scroggins , SVP and Chief Product Officer at Mercy, to explore what it means to build and lead product orgåanizations inside some o
In this episode of First Builders , hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Charles Julius , Co-Founder and CEO of Loamy, to explore what it really takes to build platforms for essential, historically under-digit
In this episode of First Builders , hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with David Apple , founder and CEO of Shark Tooth Biotech , to explore purpose-driven building, rare disease innovation, and what it really t
In this holiday special episode of First Builders , hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down to reflect on 2025, what it was like to build The Council in this tumultuous year, the launch of First Builders, and some pre
AI is moving faster than ever—but reliability remains the missing layer. In this episode of First Builders , hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Haroon Choudery, founder and CEO of Autoblocks AI, to unpack wh
Regulation and policy is often seen as a barrier to innovation, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Prashanthi Raman , former head of government a
In this episode, we sit down with Maia Bittner - a three-time founder, angel investor, and early team member at Chime - to explore the arc of a builder’s journey from zero to IPO. Maia shares how she co-founded Pinch to
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First Builders is hosted by The Council. The show is categorised under business (investing) and has published 38 episodes.
First Builders has published 38 episodes.
First Builders regularly covers business, investing. It sits in the business category, with a investing focus.
First Builders is accessible for guests with genuine business expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
First Builders hasn't explicitly signalled guest openness in recent episodes. That doesn't rule out pitching. your hook just needs to be especially compelling and relevant to their recent content.
Episodes of First Builders average 42 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
Our data rates First Builders's guest bar at 80/100 (Premium tier). Established thought leaders with verified media credentials. Sign in to PitchCentric to see how your own Pod Score compares against this show.
Methodology. Booking Probability™ blends Listen Score, 30-day Virality, open-to-guests detection, and Apple ratings. Data refreshed every 60 minutes. Listen Score and Booking Probability are calculated by PitchCentric. Last enriched 2 days ago.