How to Spot a Terrorist in Your Startup

In this episode, Dalton and Michael discuss how to identify and remove startup terrorists. Michael coined the phrase "startup terrorists" years ago during office hours at YC. These are people who will unapologetically hijack your time and do your business harm. Discussion includes: The origins of terrorist customers, how to spot terrorist customers, why startups give them leverage, when to fire a customer, negotiating terrorist requests, finding a way to say no, blindly following feature requests, building what know customers need but don't say, terrorist recruits, terrorist employees vs difficult employees, why giving in doesn't work, terrorist investors, avoiding pessimistic investors and more. Dalton + Michael is brought to you by @Standard_Cap Standard Capital is the AI-native Series A fund. Are you an AI builder? Check out StandardDB.com. Discover offers, credits, tools, and partner programs from the StandardDB ecosystem. The hub for AI builders, built by Standard Capital. Dalton Caldwell on X: https://x.com/daltonc Michael Seibel on X: https://x.com/mwseibel

Dalton CaldwellhostMichael Seibelhost

Aug 12, 202619mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: August 12, 2026
Duration: 19m
Channel: Dalton + Michael
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode, Dalton and Michael discuss how to identify and remove startup terrorists. Michael coined the phrase "startup terrorists" years ago during office hours at YC. These are people who will unapologetically hijack your time and do your business harm. Discussion includes: The origins of terrorist customers, how to spot terrorist customers, why startups give them leverage, when to fire a customer, negotiating terrorist requests, finding a way to say no, blindly following feature requests, building what know customers need but don't say, terrorist recruits, terrorist employees vs difficult employees, why giving in doesn't work, terrorist investors, avoiding pessimistic investors and more. Dalton + Michael is brought to you by @Standard_Cap Standard Capital is the AI-native Series A fund. Are you an AI builder? Check out StandardDB.com. Discover offers, credits, tools, and partner programs from the StandardDB ecosystem. The hub for AI builders, built by Standard Capital. Dalton Caldwell on X: https://x.com/daltonc Michael Seibel on X: https://x.com/mwseibel

SPEAKERS

Dalton Caldwell
host
Startup founder and investor; co-host of the Dalton + Michael show.
Michael Seibel
host
Startup founder and investor; co-host of the Dalton + Michael show.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Dalton + Michael, featuring Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel, How to Spot a Terrorist in Your Startup explores identify and eliminate startup “terrorists” who hijack progress and value A “terrorist customer” is one that consumes disproportionate time and resources, dictates the roadmap, and creates negative value—often because the founder feels hostage to the revenue or attention.

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