# Video and podcast library for founders facing consequential choices **Scope:** US pre-seed to Series A businesses, usually 2–50 employees. Evidence reviewed 28 October 2026. Advice is about the *process*, not a promise of an outcome. ## How to use this media desk These are **real, source-located items**, not a ranking based on invented audience scores. Public descriptions and, where available, transcripts support the summaries; no claim is made that every minute has been independently reviewed. The most recent items are labelled alongside older foundational episodes. Watch or listen with a real decision brief in hand, then write an assumption or next test—not a vague takeaway. ## Foundational videos and practical lectures | Resource | Source / who | Published | What it covers | Immediate buyer use | |---|---|---|---|---| | **All about pivoting** | Dalton Caldwell, Y Combinator [All about pivoting — Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6p-all-about-pivoting) | Date not established on source page | Reasons to pivot, when persistence becomes sunk cost, and not pivoting just to avoid sales | Write a three-option pivot test and a reconsideration date | | **How To Talk To Users — Startup School** | Gustaf Alströmer, Y Combinator [How To Talk To Users — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1iF1c8w5Lg) | **1 Dec 2022** | Who to interview, customer discovery, questions to avoid and interpretation of answers | Rewrite five leading interview prompts into behavioural questions | | **How to Plan an MVP** | Michael Seibel, Y Combinator [How to Plan an MVP — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hHMwLxN6EM) | **1 Aug 2019** | Scope an MVP, launch fast, gather feedback without overbuilding | Cut the next experiment to a testable, reversible commitment | **Cross-reading:** YC's pivot advice is not an instruction to change direction every time traction disappoints. Pair it with real behavioural observation and a cash-at-risk plan; its own talk warns against chronic pivots. [All about pivoting — Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6p-all-about-pivoting) ## Podcast episodes with direct decision relevance | Episode | Who and date | Source-linked coverage | Decision prompt | |---|---|---|---| | **Unforced Errors – Avoiding Mistakes At Every Stage w/ Mona Sabet** | Yaniv Bernstein and Chris Saad with Mona Sabet, *The Startup Podcast*, **13 Jan 2025** [The Startup Podcast: Unforced Errors with Mona Sabet](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unforced-errors-avoiding-mistakes-at-every-stage-w/id1612757016?i=1000683827075) | Launch/pivot/scale transitions, falling in love with solutions, false commitments and premature scaling, per episode description | Which recent commitment was based on an untested story? | | **Operator's Manual #7 — When Should You Shut Down the Business?** | Jerry Colonna and Ali Schultz, *Reboot*, **6 Jul 2023** [Reboot podcast: When Should You Shut Down the Business?](https://www.reboot.io/episode/operators-manual-7-when-should-you-shut-down-the-business/) | Business viability, profitability versus growth, difficulty of acknowledging a closing decision | Which evidence would make a wind-down defensible? | | **#164 — How To Be a Stable Board Member** | Jerry Colonna, Aileen Lee and Brad Feld, *Reboot*, **5 May 2023** [Reboot podcast: How To Be a Stable Board Member](https://www.reboot.io/episode/164-how-to-be-a-stable-board-member-with-aileen-lee-brad-feld/) | Board anxiety, blind spots, governance behaviours and supporting CEOs in uncertainty | Where might board concerns diverge from the founder's decision criteria? | | **#187 — The Childhood Patterns Driving How You Lead** | Jerry Colonna with Pam Manfredo Curtis, *Reboot*, **29 Sep 2026** [Reboot Podcast, episode catalogue](https://www.reboot.io/podcast/) | Leadership patterns and beliefs carried into work, per publisher's episode summary | What automatic response does this decision evoke, and is it evidence? | | **#188 — The End of Suffering Pt. 3: Sitting With What Hurts** | Jerry Colonna, George Loewenstein and Sharon Salzberg, *Reboot*, **13 Oct 2026** [Reboot Podcast, episode catalogue](https://www.reboot.io/podcast/) | Relationship to difficulty; publisher describes behavioural-economics and reflective perspectives | Where is emotional discomfort being mistaken for a commercial fact? | | **Wisdom for Work #32 — Beyond the Review: Rethinking How We Talk About Performance at Work** | Reboot, **16 Jul 2026** [Reboot Podcast, episode catalogue](https://www.reboot.io/podcast/) | Performance conversations and review framing as described by the catalogue | What performance evidence does a planned senior hire actually need? | ## Best reading and listening paths by decision ### Route A — “Should I pivot, persist or stop?” 1. **All about pivoting:** define reasons and counter-reasons for change. [All about pivoting — Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6p-all-about-pivoting) 2. **How To Talk To Users:** create honest customer evidence rather than relying on opinions from your board network. [How To Talk To Users — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1iF1c8w5Lg) 3. **Unforced Errors:** reconsider the stage-specific mistake of scaling or committing prematurely. [The Startup Podcast: Unforced Errors with Mona Sabet](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unforced-errors-avoiding-mistakes-at-every-stage-w/id1612757016?i=1000683827075) 4. **When Should You Shut Down the Business?:** inspect whether the economic container remains viable. [Reboot podcast: When Should You Shut Down the Business?](https://www.reboot.io/episode/operators-manual-7-when-should-you-shut-down-the-business/) **Reader output:** a one-page persist/narrow/pivot/close matrix with an evidence threshold and runway limit. ### Route B — “Can I trust my board or coach to challenge me?” Listen to **How To Be a Stable Board Member** for the role of stable challenge; pair with Reboot's newer leadership episodes for self-awareness. Then use a three-party confidentiality check rather than assuming investor-paid coaching conversations are privileged. ICF provides professional ethics language on sponsor agreements. [Reboot podcast: How To Be a Stable Board Member](https://www.reboot.io/episode/164-how-to-be-a-stable-board-member-with-aileen-lee-brad-feld/) [ICF Code of Ethics, effective 1 April 2025](https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/coaching-ethics/icf-code-of-ethics/) **Reader output:** a conflict/information-sharing map and three questions to ask the adviser. ### Route C — “Should we hire to solve the problem or redesign the work?” Pair the YC MVP lecture with the Reboot performance conversation. Ask whether the organisation has actually defined the work and the evidence that the hire would accelerate. [How to Plan an MVP — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hHMwLxN6EM) [Reboot Podcast, episode catalogue](https://www.reboot.io/podcast/) **Reader output:** a first-executive-hire challenge sheet with 30/60/90-day evidence and a no-hire alternative. ## Critical interpretation notes A video or podcast guest may present **experience, a framework or a viewpoint**, not a controlled evaluation of advisory outcomes. Prefer original links, recorded publication dates and clearly labelled description-based summaries; do not paraphrase personal claims as audited statistics. Older core content can remain useful, but check legal and financing facts against current official sources before acting. Do not infer that a guest endorses doja, the desk or any proposed provider. ## Related founder FAQs ### Which video should a founder watch before a pivot? Start with Dalton Caldwell’s Y Combinator pivot talk and write down reasons to continue as well as change. Pair it with actual customer interviews before committing cash. [All about pivoting — Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6p-all-about-pivoting) ### What should I watch before customer discovery? YC’s “How To Talk To Users” gives a practical interview framework. Use it to remove leading questions and capture what customers actually did. [How To Talk To Users — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1iF1c8w5Lg) ### Is there a podcast on shutting down a startup? Yes: Reboot’s Operator’s Manual #7 explicitly covers when to shut down a business and the founder’s difficulty with that choice. It is perspective, not a financial or legal decision mandate. [Reboot podcast: When Should You Shut Down the Business?](https://www.reboot.io/episode/operators-manual-7-when-should-you-shut-down-the-business/) ### Which episode helps me manage board disagreement? Reboot’s #164 with Aileen Lee and Brad Feld discusses stable board behaviour and blind spots. It does not replace corporate-law advice. [Reboot podcast: How To Be a Stable Board Member](https://www.reboot.io/episode/164-how-to-be-a-stable-board-member-with-aileen-lee-brad-feld/) ### Are the newest Reboot episodes about strategy? The September and October 2026 catalogue includes leadership patterns and reflective themes rather than a pivot-finance tutorial. Use them as a complement to hard decision evidence. [Reboot Podcast, episode catalogue](https://www.reboot.io/podcast/) ### Have all episodes been independently transcribed here? No. Summaries are limited to the publisher’s material and available descriptions, with that limitation disclosed. ### Can I use media advice instead of an adviser? For low-cost framing, often yes; implement only after checking company-specific facts, constraints and legal boundaries. Use a bounded external review for high-stakes unresolved uncertainty. ## Sources - [All about pivoting — Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6p-all-about-pivoting) - [How To Talk To Users — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1iF1c8w5Lg) - [How to Plan an MVP — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hHMwLxN6EM) - [The Startup Podcast: Unforced Errors with Mona Sabet](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unforced-errors-avoiding-mistakes-at-every-stage-w/id1612757016?i=1000683827075) - [Reboot podcast: When Should You Shut Down the Business?](https://www.reboot.io/episode/operators-manual-7-when-should-you-shut-down-the-business/) - [Reboot podcast: How To Be a Stable Board Member](https://www.reboot.io/episode/164-how-to-be-a-stable-board-member-with-aileen-lee-brad-feld/) - [Reboot Podcast, episode catalogue](https://www.reboot.io/podcast/) - [ICF Code of Ethics, effective 1 April 2025](https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/coaching-ethics/icf-code-of-ethics/) ## Evidence gaps for the next research pass - Full transcript-level review for all Reboot episodes and current publisher availability - More verified 2026 media specifically on startup financing offers, executive hiring and strategic uncertainty - Independent content quality testing with US seed-stage founder readers ## FAQs ### Which video should a founder watch before a pivot? Start with Dalton Caldwell’s Y Combinator pivot talk and write down reasons to continue as well as change. Pair it with actual customer interviews before committing cash. [All about pivoting — Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6p-all-about-pivoting) ### What should I watch before customer discovery? YC’s “How To Talk To Users” gives a practical interview framework. Use it to remove leading questions and capture what customers actually did. [How To Talk To Users — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1iF1c8w5Lg) ### Is there a podcast on shutting down a startup? Yes: Reboot’s Operator’s Manual #7 explicitly covers when to shut down a business and the founder’s difficulty with that choice. It is perspective, not a financial or legal decision mandate. [Reboot podcast: When Should You Shut Down the Business?](https://www.reboot.io/episode/operators-manual-7-when-should-you-shut-down-the-business/) ### Which episode helps me manage board disagreement? Reboot’s #164 with Aileen Lee and Brad Feld discusses stable board behaviour and blind spots. It does not replace corporate-law advice. [Reboot podcast: How To Be a Stable Board Member](https://www.reboot.io/episode/164-how-to-be-a-stable-board-member-with-aileen-lee-brad-feld/) ### Are the newest Reboot episodes about strategy? The September and October 2026 catalogue includes leadership patterns and reflective themes rather than a pivot-finance tutorial. Use them as a complement to hard decision evidence. [Reboot Podcast, episode catalogue](https://www.reboot.io/podcast/) ### Have all episodes been independently transcribed here? No. Summaries are limited to the publisher’s material and available descriptions, with that limitation disclosed. ### Can I use media advice instead of an adviser? For low-cost framing, often yes; implement only after checking company-specific facts, constraints and legal boundaries. Use a bounded external review for high-stakes unresolved uncertainty. ## Sources - [All about pivoting — Y Combinator](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6p-all-about-pivoting) - [How To Talk To Users — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1iF1c8w5Lg) - [How to Plan an MVP — Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hHMwLxN6EM) - [The Startup Podcast: Unforced Errors with Mona Sabet](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unforced-errors-avoiding-mistakes-at-every-stage-w/id1612757016?i=1000683827075) - [Reboot podcast: When Should You Shut Down the Business?](https://www.reboot.io/episode/operators-manual-7-when-should-you-shut-down-the-business/) - [Reboot podcast: How To Be a Stable Board Member](https://www.reboot.io/episode/164-how-to-be-a-stable-board-member-with-aileen-lee-brad-feld/) - [Reboot Podcast, episode catalogue](https://www.reboot.io/podcast/) - [ICF Code of Ethics, effective 1 April 2025](https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/coaching-ethics/icf-code-of-ethics/)