Going Solo Should Be the Rule, Not the Exception | Flo Crivello, Lindy

Flo Crivello raised about $50M as a solo founder, then watched the market kill the company he'd built. Instead of walking away, he cut deep, pivoted alone, and rebuilt into Lindy — one of the top AI agent startups. This is the full playbook: knowing when to kill a company and how deep to cut, why momentum beats rest when you're burned out, and how a solo founder builds a brain trust so the work never gets lonely. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6cCr... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Notes & more from the conversation: https://solofounders.com/blog/he-lost... Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction: how Flo describes Lindy today 01:25 — Why he wrote "Co-Founding Considered Harmful" before anyone agreed 06:53 — The bar for a co-founder: if there's a doubt, there's no doubt 07:55 — Why vesting schedules are broken 08:39 — Don't co-found with someone you haven't worked with 12:23 — From Uber to Covid to an accidental company (Teamflow) 16:56 — The day after a co-founder breakup 19:37 — When the market moves on 23:32 — Cutting the team and pivoting to Lindy 26:54 — Why momentum, not rest, is the cure for burnout 28:58 — Prospecting for gold vs. operating the mine 34:36 — The leader's real job is to win 36:54 — Lieutenants and the brain trust 40:44 — Structured vs. unstructured thinking, and the Double Diamond 43:29 — The bear case and the bull case for solo founding About Flo Crivello: Flo Crivello is the founder and CEO of Lindy, an AI agent platform building the "AI employee" that manages your inbox, calendar, and meetings. He raised ~$50M as a solo founder (Coatue, Menlo, Battery), saw the market kill his first company, and rebuilt solo into Lindy as the agent era began. Subscribe to Solo Founders Podcast:    / @solofounding   Newsletter: https://solofounders.beehiiv.com/ Follow us: https://x.com/solofounders Apply to Solo Founders: https://solofounders.com/apply #solofounders #lindy #aiagents #cofounder