๐๐ผ About the Guests:
Prakash and Lionello are the co-founders of Defang, a radically simpler way to develop, deploy, and debug production-ready cloud apps.
Lionello is CTO at Defang, as well as an engineering lead and community organizer with EE and CS background and 20 years of international industry experience doing software and hardware. He has lived in Eindhoven, Bucharest, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and recently moved to Vancouver BC. In 1997, he founded a virtual-reality software company, acquired by a multinational company for their real-time 3D rendering technology. In 2019, Workday acquired Trusted Key, the blockchain digital identity startup he helped found. Lio is active in the local maker communities, having been a staff member in China's first makerspace Xinchejian since its founding.
Prakash serves as CEO at Defang. He co-founded & served as Chief Technology Officer, President & Board Member at Trusted Key Solutions. He brings experience from previous roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Workday, and Trusted Key.
๐๐ผ About the Host:
Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product
Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 24,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. He recently sold his second SaaS product,
GuestLab, and he is working on a startup idea while hosting this show.
๐๐ผ Sponsor Corner:Shoutout to Acquire.com for sponsoring The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! Theyโre the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/
๐๐ผ Description:
Listen in as Sharath, Prakash, and Lio discuss building for builders, how frustration helped them create Defang, growth tactics, and more!
๐๐ผ Timestamps:
- 00:00: Episode Highlight
- 00:44: Shoutout to Acquire.com
- 03:10: Intro to Lio and Prakash - co-founders of Defang, a radically simpler way to develop, deploy, and debug production-ready cloud apps.
- 05:29: Why Defang's mission is to help builders move faster
- 09:19: How frustration led to building Defang
- 15:01: Why big brands like AWS don't focus on builders
- 17:02: How to go from idea to MVP for a complex product
- 23:09: How Defang launched in the market and iterated using feedback
- 28:40: Defang's growth tactics to reach users
- 32:33: What made Prakash go from being a technical and engineering lead to a CEO?
- 34:55: Defang's Product Hunt launch
- 38:10: How Defang harnesses the power of AI
- 44:22: How to differentiate yourself from the competition
- 48:00: Important lessons from corporate and startups
- 50:56: Where is the app-creating environment going?
- 53:55: Outro and closing thoughts
๐๐ผ Resources:
๐๐ผ Where to find Defang:
- Product Hunt Launch: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/defang
- Website: https://defang.io
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/defanglabs/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DefangLabs
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DefangLabs
- Discord: https://discord.com/invite/nNjaJcJ25v
- Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DefangLabs/
- Github: https://github.com/DefangLabs
๐๐ผ Where to find Prakash:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prakashsundaresan/
๐๐ผ Where to find Lio:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lionello/
- Twitter: https://x.com/LioLunesu
๐๐ผ Where to find Sharath:
What is The Undefeated Underdogs?
The Undefeated Underdogs is a podcast unpacking the underdog stories you never heard of!
It highlights the underdog mentality and brings authentic conversations with people who play the long game, take action with a chip on their shoulders, and convert obstacles into opportunities!
Buckle up, as I will be bringing some authentic founders, VCs, community builders, and content creators who got underestimated their whole life, and yet they beat the odds and became insanely successful!