The Everyday Founder

What if your business could predict the future — even with barely any data? In this episode, I sit down with Dash Tabor, founder and CEO of TUBR, a predictive analytics platform turning small data into big insights. Dash started TUBR after one too many packed Tube rides in London — and ended up building a deep-tech company using a physics-based machine learning engine that helps small businesses forecast demand, sales, and staffing needs with minimal data. But her journey wasn’t smooth. She’s lost £500k in a day, rebuilt her team after losing her co-founder mid-fundraise, and turned down “life-saving” investor cash on moral grounds — all while keeping TUBR alive and growing. We get into the raw parts of being a founder: - Fundraising in a volatile market - Building deep tech without a technical background - Understanding investor psychology - Rebuilding after disaster - And why she left London for Sheffield This is one of the most brutally honest founder stories yet. Chapters: 00:00 - Why founders should never take “trenched” investor money 00:41 - Introducing Dash Tabor & the TUBR story 02:11 - The London Tube moment that sparked the idea 03:47 - From overcrowded trains to AI innovation 05:05 - What “machine learning” really means for small businesses 07:09 - Predicting croissants, customers, and chaos 08:57 - How much data is really needed for AI to work 10:21 - Sponsor: Opus — the network for entrepreneurs 10:41 - How Dash built deep tech without being a coder 12:28 - Leaving a stable job to build something from scratch 14:19 - When Liz Truss’ budget wiped out her customers overnight 18:09 - Losing her co-founder mid-fundraise 20:24 - Rebuilding the team from zero 21:09 - Hitting rock bottom — and the “keep going” moment 25:16 - The near-collapse and the £10K that saved TUBR 26:17 - Fundraising lessons: quantity over tranches 28:22 - The reality of raising as a female founder 31:13 - How to “build the house you want to live in” with investors 32:32 - Saying no to bad money — even when desperate 35:14 - Choosing Sheffield over London 38:48 - Building community and talent outside the capital 39:28 - Finding balance (or trying to) as a founder 43:10 - Who TUBR serves today & their new product “Pulse” 45:57 - What’s next: partnerships, scale, and profitability 47:53 - The real answer: talent vs luck in startup life 49:49 - Where to follow Dash & TUBR Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.