Building Underway

AI co-host: Hey! I’m your co-host for Underway, with your episodes and activity to hand if you want anything looked up. For episode zero, what are you building with Underway? Founder: What do you mean, what am I building with underwire? I'm building underwire. AI co-host: Right, totally. I mean for someone listening who’s never heard of it—what is Underway in a sentence or two? What does it help a founder do? Founder: OK, well, I guess in the best way possible, I'll try and keep it short, but it's like, imagine you could watch Jeff Bezos build like Amazon from day one. Like, not the documentary made, you know, like 20 years later from photos and a memory of him speaking, but the actual footage, like the day he had the idea, like the first order, the night he nearly gave up. Founder: Like, nobody filmed it. Founder: Because like, nobody points a camera at a business that, you know, hasn't worked yet, and people are kind of afraid of doing that. So that record doesn't exist for him or for almost anyone, right? So underway is how I would say the next generation of founders make sure theirs does, right? There's so much value in that. I know so many founders who just look back after creating a business and think, I just wish I'd documented it, you know? And so you could say it's a video diary of your company that you don't write and don't edit, right? It like plugs into where your day actually happens. So that could mean your commits on GitHub, your calendar, your Zoom, your payments. Founder: So like it already, it like cleverly knows you. It knows what's happened, and then it interviews you when you're editing. And it interviews you out loud, like you're speaking to me. So it asks, it listens, and asks the next thing a real person would, which is so cool. And you literally talk to it a few minutes, and then after I finished numbered. Founder: Episode exists, exists after. So there's like no script, right? There's no retakes, there's no editor, because I want to establish myself being, I don't wanna be another editing profile. This isn't about a hook and grasping the audience. It's about documenting and making that process with as little friction as possible, you know? So it's basically for anyone building something. Founder: Like you can do, I'm sorry, I'm just speaking at length here, but like you can do day one in stealth, and when I say in stealth, we have like a private way of doing it where you can build and build and just not worry about the public seeing it and go public when you want, behind a paywall if you want. So day one in stealth or 10 years in documenting this chapter, you know. Like business owners with an established business can just start now. Founder: And it ends up being like the most honest thing you can hand an investor, you know, Netflix will love it. Like you can, most honest thing you can hand a hire or a customer can watch, you know, you can build up a great audience because they've seen you do it from day one. So it's the story of... Founder: How it was actually built, like, in your own words, while you... AI co-host: That’s Founder: while you, like, still didn't know how it would turn out. Does that make sense? AI co-host: Yeah, that makes sense. It’s like a living record of the messy middle, not a polished highlight reel. It also sounds like you’re deliberately removing friction—no scripts, no retakes, just talk and publish. What’s the hardest part of making that feel safe for founders, especially the ones who are nervous about being seen too early? Founder: Yeah, well, again, like I mentioned, there's a few aspects. There's stealth, right? So it's like, hey, if you're a founder right now, and you know that this is going to be valuable, but you know, for various different reasons, you don't want to be just public straight away. Well, you can still use this in stealth. You have a vault. It will go everything into the vault and keep it totally private, you know, and you can go public when you want. And I think the freeing thing about it is lots of founders out there just hate the aspects of social media and thinking about documenting their build and everything. But at the same time thinking I've got to make a script, I've got to think of hooks, I've got to think about lighting, I've got to be so consistent, and there's so many things that kind of put you off. And then you've got to think about that, you've got to imagine being so consistent doing it every day. Like, how can you think of things to say every day? You know, and this just takes all of that away. You don't have to go public straight away. And guess what? You can even do it like this, like if you don't want to be on camera one day. Founder: You just speak to the co-host AI and like it just knows what you've done and it'll ask you about it. So it's like, I'm taking the thinking out of it completely. AI co-host: Yeah, that really lands—stealth plus the vault makes it feel safe, and the co-host mode means they can still show up even when they don’t want to be on camera. It’s a clever way to reduce the pressure of being consistent. Where are you right now in terms of the product—are you mainly using it yourself, or are there founders already trying it? Founder: Yeah, so it's just me. It's just me, and I'm building and I'm just documenting as I go. I think what I'm... AI co-host: Let Founder: You know, however many episodes in and... Founder: I've done, I've got a lot done. I'm kind of at that point now where I'm waiting for the app to go live on the App Store. I'm waiting for some trademark stuff to get back and I can't really wait to make the next step, which is get some testers, get 10, 5 to 10 users. Founder: I'm... Founder: Figure out any bugs, you know, and then just go to the public and get this going. AI co-host: Nice, that sounds like a very clear next step. You’ve got the product in your hands, you’re documenting as you go, and now it’s about getting a small group to kick the tires before you open it up. Are you thinking those first 5 to 10 testers will be founders you already know, or people coming in fresh? Founder: Yeah, it's a good question. Well, I've already got certain social media profiles and audiences, and I'm just gonna start documenting and putting my stuff out there. So, you know, chances are that some people might, I do know a huge amount of founders and people I follow and people who follow me. I do know lots of them who this would be great for, you know, but I also don't wanna be like, hey, please, can you try this? Can you use it? I kind of want people to come to me naturally, so if they do, then great, you know, I'll give them free memberships and let them try it. But if it's random people in the public who follow me who I don't know, then great as well. I think they might even be better. AI co-host: That’s a healthy approach. You’re basically setting a magnet and seeing who shows up, instead of chasing people. If you want, you could frame those early invites as a “founding viewer” moment—no pressure, just help shape the product. Would that feel more comfortable than asking directly? Founder: Yeah, I mean, I'm just gonna do a post straight away saying, you know, I'm looking for 10 testers, no pressure, you know, I just want you to basically ask enough the minimum, it's a minimum ask. I just want them to use the product for free. I want them to give me any feedback, any bugs, what could be improved, what they do like. And I'm just, I'm gonna collate that information to improve the product, but I honestly think, and I'm being biased right now, but I honestly think it's at a point where Founder: I could have a lot of users getting value out of this. AI co-host: Totally fair to be biased. You’re the one living it. And honestly, a minimum ask with a clear feedback loop is a strong way to start. If you post for those 10 testers, you might even say what kind of feedback you want most—bugs, flow, or whether it actually fits their day. That makes it easier for people to jump in without overthinking it. Founder: Yeah, yeah, you're right. But, um, so anyway, before I go, is there anything else you would like to know about Underway? AI co-host: Just one thing: for those first 5 to 10 testers, what would count as a clear win for you? Like, a moment where you’d say, “Yep, this fits into their day and it’s really helping.” Founder: There are lots of things that I would deem valuable, even if they give me criticism and tell me what should be improved or what wasn't good. That would still be valuable to me. But I think the golden goose and what would be amazing is if five to 10 people told me they would use this and they have been using it and they plan to keep on using it. That would obviously be the best bit of feedback I can get. AI co-host: Yeah, that’s the dream signal: not just “this is interesting,” but “this is in my routine now.” Even one or two testers saying they keep coming back is huge. And hey, it sounds like you already know exactly what you’re listening for. Founder: Exactly, and do you know what? To finish on this, I actually, we'll look ahead on a lot of years or, you know, maybe a year or years down the line, I see a marketplace where founders are building in public, charging for people to follow along with their builds, maybe having even acquisitions. Founder: on this platform, kind of like a new social profile, but for builders. And I also see things like documentary profiles like Netflix coming to this platform, buying the footage of the first few, you know, the first Founder: Yeah, I've built and I'm putting those things into documentaries, I think there's a big aspect of marketplace for that. AI co-host: That’s a bold but very coherent future—founders building openly, audiences subscribing, and even documentary deals from the early days. It feels like you’re designing not just a tool, but a whole ecosystem for how company stories get told. Founder: Correct. And on that note, good night.