Ep 36 - She Had Her Idea Stolen at 19 - And Came Back to Raise VC With Zero Network. Here's How Lamees Butt Did It.

Lamees Butt had her first business idea stolen by a VC at 19. She spent the next decade learning everything (corporate, startups, AI) waiting for her moment.Now she’s the founder of Riser, the app rethinking how people find jobs - and she raised most of her pre-seed with no network, no warm intros, and no family money behind her.We get into the real talk on female founders and VC funding, why your product is no longer your moat, and what it actually takes to build when the odds are stacked against you.WE COVERHow she built her first company at 19 — and had the idea stolen by a VCWhy your product is no longer your moat — and what isHow she raised 80% of her pre-seed through personal brand aloneThe truth about VC funding for women — is it actually changing?How to find your founding team when you're starting from zeroWhy hustle culture is killing your best ideasCHAPTERS1:06 – Intro + welcome2:30 – What she knows now that she wishes she'd known earlier9:00 – Growing up in East London and building her first company at 1916:10 – Getting her idea stolen — and what happened next22:00 – From receptionist to Mercedes-Benz head office27:30 – Joining an AI startup as employee two31:30 – Why hustle culture kills creativity33:00 – Where her confidence really came from37:30 – How to raise VC funding with no network41:00 – Is the 2% funding stat actually changing?46:00 – The hardest moments building Riser49:00 – How she found her founding team53:00 – One thing to take awayMY LINKSEllie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliedewit/Ellie's IG: https://www.instagram.com/elliedewit_/MOXIE: https://www.getmoxie.ioMOXIE IG: https://www.instagram.com/getmoxie.io/MOXIE TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@getmoxie.ioEPISODE LINKSLamees's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lameesbutt/Lamees's TikTok: @lameesbuttRiser website: https://www.riser.com/