Have you ever tried to book a tennis, pickleball, padel, or squash court and wondered why the process still feels stuck in another decade?

In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers, I sit down with Daren Hornig, founder and CEO of CourtsApp, to discuss how he spotted a major gap in one of the world's fastest-growing sports sectors and decided to do something about it. Drawing on decades of experience in real estate development and sports infrastructure, Daren set out to build what he describes as the Expedia of racquet sports, a platform designed to make finding, booking, and enjoying courts as simple as booking a hotel room.

Daren shares the origin story behind CourtsApp, from acquiring and revitalizing the historic Port Washington Tennis Academy to helping expand pickleball facilities across the Northeast. Along the way, he discovered a fragmented industry filled with disconnected systems, unanswered phone calls, and missed opportunities for both players and operators.

We also explore how artificial intelligence is changing the experience for clubs and players alike. Daren explains the role of Courtney, CourtsApp's AI-powered assistant, and how AI can help facilities improve customer service, reduce operational costs, and create more seamless experiences without requiring expensive technology teams or infrastructure investments.

Beyond the technology, this conversation is packed with lessons for founders. Daren talks openly about building globally distributed teams, moving from physical real estate projects into software development, and why speed, adaptability, and a willingness to solve real-world problems continue to create opportunities in unexpected places.

Whether you're a startup founder, sports enthusiast, investor, or simply fascinated by how technology is modernizing traditional industries, this episode offers an insightful look at what happens when entrepreneurship meets a market ready for change.

Could racquet sports become the next industry transformed by digital platforms and AI? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have you ever wondered what separates entrepreneurs who survive economic crises from those who thrive because of them?

In this episode of Startup Builders & Backers, I sit down with Russell Attwood, CEO of Route 101, whose entrepreneurial journey spans multiple decades, technology shifts, and economic cycles. From launching a business in a cupboard room to building and selling a multi-million-pound company, Russell's story offers a candid look at resilience, leadership, and the realities of building companies when conditions are far from ideal.

Russell shares how the 2008 financial crisis forced difficult decisions, including restructuring a successful business to ensure its survival, and how those experiences shaped his approach to leadership, cash flow management, and long-term growth. Rather than viewing entrepreneurship through the lens of overnight success, he offers a refreshing perspective on navigating uncertainty, backing yourself when others doubt you, and building teams that can weather challenging times together.

We also explore the story behind Route 101, a company name inspired by a family road trip down America's famous Highway 101, and how Russell spotted the shift from traditional technology projects to recurring cloud-based services long before many competitors. That insight helped shape Route 101 into a fast-growing customer experience and contact center specialist serving organizations across the public and private sectors.

The conversation naturally turns to one of the biggest topics facing businesses today: artificial intelligence. Russell explains why so many organizations are rushing headlong into AI without first putting the right foundations in place. He discusses the importance of customer knowledge, governance, and practical use cases that deliver immediate value, from agent assistance and call summarization to quality assurance and conversational AI.

Throughout our discussion, Russell brings a balanced perspective to customer experience, reminding us that while technology continues to evolve, customers still want the same thing they have always wanted: a simple, frictionless experience that solves their problems quickly and effectively.

Whether you're building your first company, scaling an existing business, or trying to separate genuine innovation from industry hype, this episode offers valuable lessons from someone who has successfully navigated multiple waves of change while keeping customers at the center of every decision.

What can today's founders learn from someone who has already survived the storms, rebuilt stronger, and chosen to start all over again?

What does it take to build, scale, sell a company, step away from business, and then return because you believe an entire industry is about to be reinvented by AI?

In this episode of Startup Builders and Backers, I spoke with David Amsellem, founder of luxury concierge company John Paul and now Chief Distribution Officer at HBX Group, about entrepreneurship, innovation, and why the next generation of founders will win by orchestrating ecosystems rather than simply building standalone products.

David’s story is particularly fascinating because it spans two very different startup eras. He launched his first company at a time when entrepreneurs still had to justify why they weren’t pursuing traditional careers. Today, he sees a completely different environment where speed, agility, AI, and access to capital are changing how startups compete against much larger organizations. But despite all the technology shifts, he believes the entrepreneurial mindset itself remains remarkably unchanged. Founders still need resilience, conviction, adaptability, and the willingness to keep moving when nobody else believes in the vision yet.

A major theme throughout our conversation was how AI is reshaping entire industries faster than many business leaders realize. David explained how travel is moving away from the traditional “search, compare, book” model and toward conversational, agentic experiences powered by AI assistants. But rather than seeing this as a threat, he believes the biggest opportunity for founders lies in combining AI efficiency with deeply human experiences that technology alone cannot replicate.

For startup founders, there are valuable lessons here about positioning, timing, and differentiation. David argued that modern startups increasingly succeed by connecting fragmented ecosystems and reducing friction rather than inventing entirely new categories from scratch. In his view, the companies most likely to win in the AI economy will be those capable of simplifying complexity behind the scenes while creating highly personalized customer experiences at the front end.

We also explored the realities of balancing startup agility inside larger organizations. David spoke candidly about joining HBX Group as an entrepreneur entering a global corporate environment and the tensions that naturally emerge between operational consistency and rapid experimentation. His perspective on how founders and enterprises can work together without suffocating innovation offers some particularly useful insight for anyone navigating partnerships, acquisitions, or scale-up growth phases.

One of the strongest moments in the conversation came when David discussed failure, risk, and founder psychology. He believes too many investors and corporations publicly celebrate innovation while privately punishing failure. Real innovation, he argues, requires giving people room to experiment, fail fast, adapt quickly, and learn without fear. It is a mindset he compares to raising children: creating structure and support while still allowing enough freedom for creativity and growth.

David also shared a piece of advice many early-stage founders need to hear. Looking back, he believes startups often try to scale internationally far too early before securing a dominant position in their home market. The temptation to chase rapid expansion can distract founders from building operational strength, focus, and sustainable foundations.

This episode is packed with practical insight for founders, operators, investors, and anyone building businesses in rapidly evolving industries. From AI disruption and ecosystem thinking to founder resilience and scaling strategy, David offers a refreshingly honest perspective on what it really takes to build companies in an era defined by acceleration and constant change.