Building Companies From Scratch: Inside Interplay’s Studio

Venture studios are quietly becoming one of the most effective models for company creation, but most people still don't understand what happens inside one.

For this podcast episode I sat down with Andy Bilinsky, Partner at Interplay leading our Studio, to break down exactly how we build companies from the ground up.

During our conversation, we covered:

What a venture studio actually is and how it differs from traditional VC
Why do we research industries deeply before ever writing a business plan
The role of operating partners as true co-founders
Why second- and third-time founders are choosing to build with a studio instead of going solo
How Interplay went from 3 new companies in Q4 2025 to targeting 10+ in 2026

Big thanks to Andy for pulling back the curtain on how we build. We’re grateful to have him here at Interplay.

⏱️ Chapter Markers:

00:00 Introduction to Andy Bilinsky

01:15 Andy's Entrepreneurial Background

03:30 Early Career: Hyper-Growth at Haute Look

05:45 BeachMint, Science Incubator & Chirp Ads

08:00 Launching Lensable From Scratch

09:30 Why Andy Joined Interplay

13:00 What Is a Venture Studio?

15:30 Interplay's Thesis-Driven Approach

18:00 The Role of Operating Partners

20:30 What Makes a Great Studio CEO

24:00 Why Successful Founders Don't Go Solo

27:30 The Value of a Firm as Co-Founder

30:00 Administrative Support & De-Risking

33:00 Distributed Teams & Geographic Flexibility

35:00 Studio Growth: From 3 Companies to 10+

Links:

Andy Blinsky: LinkedIn
Interplay: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter
MPD: LinkedIn, Twitter

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(152)

Overlooked No More: How Smalls Is Building The Brand Cats Deserve

Cats are 40% of the pet market, but are somehow still chronically overlooked. Every innovation goes to dogs first. Even your vet's office is built for dogs first. Matt Michaelson, cofounder and CEO of...

4 Juni 24min

The Rise of Private Credit: How $1T in Capital Is Reshaping Finance

Private credit has exploded into a trillion-dollar asset class, but most people outside finance still don’t understand how it works.I sat down with Ivan Zinn, founder of Atalaya Capital Management and...

12 Mars 45min

Defying Gravity: A Lookback At 2025 & Deep Dive Into The Macro Forces Shaping 2026

Is the global economy stronger than it looks or more fragile beneath the surface? If you’re trying to reconcile booming markets with rising geopolitical risk, this week’s episode brings an important p...

26 Feb 33min

Saving Healthcare: How Meroka Is Empowering Doctors To Stay Independent

Why is U.S. healthcare so broken? If you're not sure why it’s so expensive or dysfunctional, this week’s podcast may illuminate the answers for you.I sat down with Alex Barrett, Cofounder & CEO of Mer...

12 Feb 29min

The Power of Suggestion: Inside the Psychology of High-Stakes Selling

This conversation blew me away. I sat down with Lydia Fenet, an auctioneer who’s raised over a billion dollars, and what started as a chat about charity auctions quickly turned into one of the most in...

29 Jan 31min

The Gold Standard for Seed VC: Inside Primary

Brad Svrluga has been a mentor and a close friend of mine for years. Watching him build Primary - one of the most respected firms in the industry - has been a masterclass in itself, so sitting down wi...

15 Jan 39min

2026 Predictions Episode

Our 2026 predictions are in. From IPOs to AI to robots - check out what we think is actually coming in 2026.To wrap up 2025, I regroup with Mike and Phuong for our annual end-of-year episode, where we...

16 Dec 202557min