IPN Startup Community: AMA w/ Saba Karim
Join the IPN Startup Community for a live AMA with Saba Karim — builder, investor, and former Head of Pipeline at Techstars — hosted by IPN Startup Community Admin Naveed Lalani.
This is an open, wide-ranging conversation on entrepreneurship, company building, investing, and the real build-fail-scale cycle.
Saba has been building apps since his teenage years, a journey that took him from Stanford to the founding teams of startups like Evolve (acquired by HubSpot). He has reviewed 50,000+ startup pitches annually as Head of Pipeline at Techstars, co-founded the Rising Stars Fund (backed by X and Amazon), helped founders raise $20M+, and is currently back in the builder’s seat leading a stealth consumer hardware startup.
Saba brings a rare 360-degree perspective — as a founder, investor, accelerator insider, and operator — and is known for his candid take on what actually works (and what doesn’t).
Topics include:
What separates promising startups from fundable, durable companies
Common founder mistakes across idea, seed, and scale stages
How investors really evaluate founders, teams, and momentum
Lessons from seeing tens of thousands of pitches up close
Knowing when to persist, pivot, or walk away
Building ambition without burning out
This AMA is designed for founders, operators, aspiring entrepreneurs, and investors looking for real insight from someone who has seen the startup ecosystem from every angle — not just the highlight reel.
Bring your questions.
No pitch decks. No filters.
Fun note: Saba is based in Los Angeles, but will be joining us live from his hometown of Melbourne, Australia.