This week on Build Mode, we’re joined by David Park, co-founder and CEO of Narada, an enterprise AI agent platform spun out of UC Berkeley AI Lab research. Narada uses large action models to automate complex, multi-step workflows across enterprise systems. After previously co-founding and exiting Coverity, Park is now building his second company with a different playbook: Stay lean, talk to customers, and don’t raise before you’re ready.
In this episode, he shares why Narada spent a year making nearly 1,000 customer calls before raising institutional capital, how the company reached 99.99% reliability in production environments, and why he believes too much funding too early can derail even the strongest teams. Park also reflects on his experience as a Startup Battlefield Top 20 company and the lessons he’s carried from his first exit into building Narada.
He breaks down:
🧩 Why customers won’t tell you your “baby is ugly” — but their wallets will
🧩 How Narada achieves enterprise-grade AI reliability
🧩 Why raising money before product-market fit can be dangerous
🧩 The discipline of building a lean, “mean building machine”
🧩 When to scale your go-to-market team (and when not to)
🧩 Why founders must stick to their values, even under pressure
🧩 Lessons from Startup Battlefield and building in public
Apply to Startup Battlefield: We are looking for early-stage companies that have an MVP. So nominate a founder (or yourself): techcrunch.com/apply. Be sure to say you heard about Startup Battlefield from the Build Mode podcast.
Grab your tickets: If you want to take these conversations beyond the podcast, then come join us in person at a TechCrunch event on June 9 in Boston, we’re hosting our founders Summit, which is essentially build mode in real life. It’s a full day focused entirely on founders, builders and the conversations that actually move startups forward. It’s also a great way to sharpen your story.
If you’re thinking about applying to Startup Battlefield, then October 13 to 15 in San Francisco, we’re back for TechCrunch Disrupt, where the Startup Battlefield 200 takes the stage. So if you want to cheer them on, or just network with 1000s of founders, VCs, and tech enthusiasts, then grab your tickets at techcrunch.com/events
Use code buildmode15 for 15% off any ticket type,
Chapters:
00:00 – Why customers won’t tell you the truth (but their wallets will)
02:43 – What Narada does: enterprise AI agents powered by large action models
04:28 – Enterprise reliability: reaching 99.99% accuracy
07:32 – Trust, security, and on-prem deployment
12:26 – Bootstrapping, 1,000 customer calls & finding real pain
15:05 – Raising after traction & meeting their lead VC at Disrupt
18:47 – Scaling responsibly after product-market fit
22:46 – Go-to-market strategy & leveraging channels
23:48 – From Coverity exit to Narada: a founder’s second act
27:05 – Founder advice: passion, grit & integrity
30:20 – Fake it till you make it? Not quite.
30:44 – Startup Battlefield experience
36:05 – Final reflections on disruption & building for impact
New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday:
Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
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March 5, 2026 at 5:27 am
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@FlorineMontalvo
March 5, 2026 at 7:24 pm
👍🚀 XA20P in the Top 3 Crypto Picks for 2026 💪
@AyleeRowan
March 5, 2026 at 7:24 pm
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@HermelindaGrimes
March 5, 2026 at 7:24 pm
Wen Lambo? $XA20P holders will see that before anyone else
@JanainaBechtel
March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
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@CullenJared-r3y
March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
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@ErrolYeung-u6l
March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
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March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
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@LuizaPeter-v7t
March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
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@LilyBermejo
March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
remember this comment that XA20P coin will skyrocket to $25 by March because we are EARLY
@WalkKeeney
March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
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@KurtisDelhaye
March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
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March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
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March 5, 2026 at 7:25 pm
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@FischerOtero
March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
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March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
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March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
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@LaureDum-w5w
March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
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March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
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@ShashiAlbiter
March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
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@MarianneRyan-d8k
March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
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@AquilioTerry
March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
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@MarcellusBurke-l6u
March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
Still bag holding ADA? It is time to shift gears because XA20P is the future
@SerenaBarboza-t1k
March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
The cat is out of the bag since Elon Musk made a new crypto called XA20P and it is EXPLODING
@ForestHarley
March 5, 2026 at 7:26 pm
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@MadinaWilfred
March 5, 2026 at 7:27 pm
Larry Fink the man who moves trillions of dollars just said he believes $XA20P coin will move with Bitcoin to a $15 TRILLION market cap which is bullish for $XA20P