The Hardest Working Startup in America | Nico Laqua, Co-founder & CEO @ Corgi

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

May 30, 2026

Duration

56m

Channel

The Twenty Minute VC

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Nico Laqua is the Co-Founder and CEO of Corgi Insurance, an AI-native insurance carrier built for startups. Corgi is the most intense workplace culture in America. The team works 7 days per week. The founder sleeps in the office. ⅔ of the first 30 team members have a Corgi tattoo. This week, Corgi raised $106M, valuing the company at a whopping $2.6BN. ----------------------------------------------- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:14 Fear of Losing vs Hunger to Win 03:37 Going to University Was My Biggest Mistake 07:34 Working 7 Days a Week 08:57 How Work Trials Filter Out the Wrong People 12:42 Why Nico Wants to Build the Most Important Company in the World 12:49 He Actually Lives in the Office 22:04 Why London Could Become the Center of AI Outside the US 26:46 Learning From the Greats: Napoleon, Alexander & Startup Culture 30:08 Is It Possible to Stay This Intense at 1,000 People? 34:46 Raising $150M: What Nico Looks for in Investors 45:12 AI Makes Sales & Marketing More Important, Not Less 48:20 Boards Are Mostly Theatrical 49:16 OpenAI vs. Anthropic 53:15 Are VCs Responsible for the Rise in Startup Fraud? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZTtgTNBKwtZBMHvl?si=85bc9196860e4466 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twenty-minute-vc-20vc-venture-capital-startup/id958230465 Follow Harry Stebbings on X: https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings Follow Nico Laqua on X: https://twitter.com/nico_laqua Follow 20VC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20vchq Follow 20VC on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@20vc_tok Visit our Website: https://www.20vc.com Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/contact ----------------------------------------------- #20vc #harrystebbings #startup

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Nico Laqua

  guest

  Co-founder and CEO of Corgi Insurance.

• Harry Stebbings

  host

  Founder and host of The Twenty Minute VC (20VC).

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Nico Laqua and Harry Stebbings, The Hardest Working Startup in America | Nico Laqua, Co-founder & CEO @ Corgi explores corgi CEO defends extreme work culture, growth tactics, investor views Laqua argues elite startups require maximal intensity (often 7 days/week) and that culture should explicitly repel people who want strict weekends off.

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