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’s AI research lab. Narada uses large action models to automate complex, multistep 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:
- Customers not telling 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). Be sure to say you heard about Startup Battlefield from the Build Mode podcast. Apply here.
Founder Summit 2026: If you want to take these conversations beyond the podcast, then join us in person at the TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 event on June 9 in Boston. This 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. Get your tickets.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: We’re back for TechCrunch Disrupt on October 13 to 15 in San Francisco, where the Startup Battlefield 200 takes the stage. So if you want to cheer them on, or just network with thousands of founders, VCs, and tech enthusiasts, then grab your tickets.
Use code buildmode15 for 15% off any ticket type.
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.