Who needs VCs when you have friends like these?

199 · Stack Overflow · April 14, 2026, 5:04 a.m.
Summary
In this blog post, Ryan interviews Zhen Lu, co-founder and CEO of RunPod, about innovative approaches to funding that bypass traditional venture capital. The discussion highlights leveraging community support for funding, balancing intuition with user feedback, and the evolution of RunPod's infrastructure using a software-layer and data-first approach.