What do Formula One engines, a $450M metaverse exit, and the return of Napster have in common? Sam Huber.

In this episode, Sam takes us through his journey from working on F1 engines to building Admix, rebranding it as LandVault, before it was acquired for $450M - right before pivoting into AI with Napster's relaunch as an AI agent company. He also unpacks the marginal-gains mindset he brought from racing, the trade-offs behind every founder decision, and why MENA is becoming a hotbed for AI innovation.

In this episode, they also discuss:

• The importance of marginal gains in business and racing
• Strategic trade-offs in product development and marketing
• Journey from Formula One engineering to startups
• Building Admix: solving in-game advertising monetization
• Fundraising and scaling in the tech industry
• Pivoting during market shifts and the Metaverse opportunity
• Rebranding Admix to LandVault before being valued at $450M
• The Infinite Reality acquisition and expansion into the Middle East
• Relaunching Napster as an AI agent company
• Building AI interfaces beyond the chatbot

Now We Build has partnered with CapQuest, an equity and investor relations management platform built for founders who need to track SAFEs, manage their cap table, and keep investors updated without the spreadsheet chaos. If you're raising capital or managing equity, CapQuest helps you stay organised from day one. Now We Build listeners can now get 20% off an entire annual subscription with the code nowwebuild20. Use the link here to claim the discount: https://capquest.io/book-demo

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:45 Sam's background in Formula One

03:10 Lessons from Formula One: Marginal gains and trade-offs

07:18 Transition from F1 to entrepreneurship

09:04 Entering the gaming industry and early learnings

14:45 Identifying opportunities in in-game advertising

20:28 Fundraising journey and initial challenges

23:45 Rebranding to LandVault and strategic pivots

32:26 Acquisition of Infinite Reality and expansion into the Middle East

37:02 The future of AI and the MENA region

40:08 Quick fire questions and insights

43:45 Final thoughts and connecting with Sam

Learn more: https://linktr.ee/nowwebuild

Did you enjoy this interview? Subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes.

Follow Sam Huber:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samhuber/

X: https://x.com/SamHuber

https://www.napster.com/

Follow Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-marchant/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sammrchant

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sammrchant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What separates fintech ideas that become billion-dollar businesses from the ones that quietly disappear? In this special episode, Sam brings together two of the most experienced fintech builders in the UK to answer that exact question.

Paul Staples built one of the internet's first B2B marketplaces in 1999, launched one of the world's earliest carbon credit platforms, and has spent the last decade as an angel investor across some of the UK's largest financial institutions.

Anthony Thomson co-founded Metro Bank - the UK's first new high street bank in over 100 years - and Atom Bank, the UK's first mobile-only bank.

Between them, they've validated, launched, and exited multiple businesses worth billions. And they've both learned the same hard lesson: the idea is never the asset. The insight behind it is.

In this episode:

• Why proving trust matters more than proving the product
• The data insight that built Metro Bank
• Why the customers with the highest satisfaction at Atom never spoke to anyone
• The real reason most VC-backed fintechs fail to scale.

Now We Build has partnered with CapQuest, an equity and investor relations management platform built for founders who need to track SAFEs, manage their cap table, and keep investors updated without the spreadsheet chaos. If you're raising capital or managing equity, CapQuest helps you stay organised from day one. Now We Build listeners can now get 20% off an entire annual subscription with the code nowwebuild20. Use the link here to claim the discount: https://capquest.io/book-demo

Learn more: https://linktr.ee/nowwebuild

Did you enjoy this interview? Subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes.

Follow:

Paul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauljestaples/

Anthony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-thomson-55373531/

Follow Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-marchant/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sammrchant

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sammrchant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to build great products across DTC subscriptions, quick commerce, and omnichannel retail - all while navigating corporate structures, IPOs and the unique demands of MENA markets?

In this episode of Now We Build, Sam Marchant sits down with Valentin Klein, Head of Product for Customer Experience at Eyewa, to unpack his career journey from Berlin startups to HelloFresh's new ventures team, to Talabat's IPO, and now into omnichannel retail across the GCC. Valentin shares the frameworks, hard-won lessons and honest failures behind building products that actually grow businesses - and why most people are looking for a silver bullet that doesn't exist.

Sam and Valentin also discuss:

• Validation of new ventures in corporate settings
• Building customer-centric products in diverse markets
• Localization strategies for GCC and MENA regions
• The role of data in entrepreneurship and growth
• Balancing offline and online customer experiences

Now We Build has partnered with CapQuest, an equity and investor relations management platform built for founders who need to track SAFEs, manage their cap table, and keep investors updated without the spreadsheet chaos. If you're raising capital or managing equity, CapQuest helps you stay organised from day one. Now We Build listeners can now get 20% off an entire annual subscription with the code nowwebuild20. Use the link here to claim the discount: https://capquest.io/book-demo

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:45 Background

04:26 Startup Ecosystem: Dubai vs Berlin

07:30 Building New Ventures at HelloFresh

10:12 Challenges in Testing New Ventures

13:02 FactorForm: Validation and Challenges

15:45 Transition to Talabat: IPO and Growth

18:31 Vendor Growth and Monetization at Talabat

21:22 Connecting Online and Offline Experiences at IOWA

23:56 Cultural Nuances in MENA Markets

26:41 Advice for Founders Expanding in MENA

29:23 Quickfire Questions and Closing Thoughts

Learn more: https://linktr.ee/nowwebuild

Did you enjoy this interview? Subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes.

Follow Valentin:

LinkedIn: https://ae.linkedin.com/in/valentinklein

Follow Sam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-marchant/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sammrchant

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sammrchant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.