July 30, 2026
July 30, 2026
Alex Konrad spent 12 years at Forbes, where he ran the Midas List, launched the Cloud 100 and wrote numerous cover stories before leaving to found Upstarts Media, a newsletter and media company providing in-depth coverage of the startup ecosystem.
He joined us recently to talk about what makes a company an "AI company,” what he looks for in a good interview, and what PR teams can do to help their clients stay on his good side.
What led you to found your own media company?
I really enjoyed my time at Forbes, but I felt I had achieved my major goals within the newsroom. The idea of doing the same thing year after year wasn't exciting to me.
I saw an opportunity to try new things that are harder to do at a bigger publication. I also wanted to bring the in-depth storytelling that I enjoy into the startup ecosystem that I felt wasn't getting as much attention.
I also wanted to bring the in-depth storytelling that I enjoy into the startup ecosystem that I felt wasn't getting as much attention.
What’s the audience breakdown in terms of folks who are signing up for the newsletter?
At Forbes we had in mind a generic business-savvy professional. Upstarts is deeper in the tech industry. It's everyone from people in business school through to the founders themselves. Founders are my ICP (ideal customer profile), and having them as readers is really important. VCs are another important market, because they're so plugged in.
Since moving from Forbes, has your smell test changed for what makes a story?
At Forbes, there were expectations about revenue and disclosing certain facts, like valuation. I take more of a case-by-case approach. It’s important to press companies to share more than they may want to, but sometimes the numbers don't tell the whole story. I need to be writing about interesting companies, technologies, or trends. Even if it’s not a huge company by those metrics, if it taps into a bigger question that’s interesting to the ecosystem, it can still deserve coverage.
What’s a table-stakes trend that’s not going to get your attention any more?
Generally speaking, unless you have a really differentiated approach, the fact that you have AI agents is not that exciting any more. Most AI uses will not be in and of themselves interesting, they’ll just be a way that tools are made more effective.
The companies that will be considered “AI companies” are the ones where the AI creates a meaningful competitive advantage; where the AI itself is the difference.
Companies that will be considered “AI companies” are the ones where the AI creates a meaningful competitive advantage; where the AI itself is the difference.
What do you think is the biggest difference between past technology explosions like the cloud and the AI world right now?
The resource constraints have changed. Ten years ago we talked about AWS sticker shock and how companies were trying to move a lot of processes into the cloud, and then saw costs balloon. Obviously, a big question right now is whether layering a ton of AI tools into your product is even sustainable.
Something I talk about with almost every startup is, how do you set up your product to use the best from LLMs or agents without relying on venture dollars to hide that sticker shock from your customer? If you're spending thousands of dollars to generate videos and you don't want to charge your customers that much, something has to change.
Another interesting piece is that it’s now very easy to vibe code anything. In a world where anyone can generate any kind of app, what makes that app worthwhile and valuable? The onus is on the ideas and outcomes to be 10x better, because the fact that an app exists is no longer exciting.
In a world where anyone can generate any kind of app, what makes that app worthwhile and valuable? The onus is on the ideas and outcomes to be 10x better, because the fact that an app exists is no longer exciting.
What are three specific fields or industries in which you'd like to talk to startups?
Lately, science-forward startups building AI that goes beyond LLMs have captured my attention. I've been meeting with materials science labs like Radical AI, math labs like Axiom Math, and simulation/world-model labs like General Intuition.
I'm also interested in the unsung companies that make this whole flywheel spin, like one I met with that’s used by the big AI labs to handle integrations for their biggest customers.
What annoys you most about PR people? And what's the most common error you see?
First, I prefer that they subscribe [to the newsletter]—even just the free version—and that they have already read a few of my articles to understand what I like. I know people are asking ChatGPT or Claude to fake this, but we have good pattern recognition that detects when someone randomly mentions an article I wrote; and I know if it wasn’t one of my best. You don’t have to pretend.
The most annoying thing, frankly, is when I see PR people doing what the client is asking, knowing that it's not gonna work out. It’s performative. I understand you guys can be in a tough position there. It would be great if you could tell your clients, “We know Alex, he won’t be into this. Don't make me follow up three times just to have a paper trail of him saying no.”
The more you guys can help me work with a founder to tell a really good story, the better. That's where I love working with PR folks. You could tell them, “I know you don't want to give Alex your revenue growth, but this will go over a lot better if your growth is out there. So I would urge you to share that with him.”
Are there any paid partnership opportunities we should know about?
Absolutely. The easiest way to partner with us is on our newsletter, for a week or a month or more. I also do limited, more bespoke things like data dives or Upstarts profiles, which are more like magazine stories. We're also always open to discussing the possibility of sponsoring a series of stories.
Another option is podcasts. For this, we use a seasonal sponsorship approach. Season two is sponsored by Rippling. Plus, I co-host a lot of events. For example, I recently worked with Vanta and Airwallex on a series of Tech Week events across Boston, New York, and London, where I was able to collaborate with my friend, the talented comedian Alexis Gay.
The events that we typically do are oversubscribed, but we try to make them inclusive and tactically useful for early-stage founders and startup builders.
An interview is great when a founder feels comfortable sharing their weaknesses, their failures, or their pivots; the honest story.
As someone who’s interviewed many founders over the years, what makes a great interview?
An interview is great when a founder feels comfortable sharing their weaknesses, their failures, or their pivots; the honest story. The challenge, especially with young founders right now, is when they simply try to impress me, and it feels like a first date. In that situation, the person's just blowing smoke, and I’m not learning anything about them.
I really gravitate towards plain talk, even if it has to be off the record. I often meet with founders off the record before I write about them, just for a vibe check. Trust me to hype you up if you deserve it; no need to come on too strong.
