Fear, Risk & Building Start-ups | Yves Béhar & Shaun Lopez

Yves Béhar designed the Jawbone, the Snoo, and the August Smart Lock. Shaun Lopez has been selling solar on Maui for 20 years and chases 60-foot waves. They met surfing in Fiji, and this conversation connects the two worlds. They talk about how big-wave surfers manage fear (breathing, preparation, a good safety team), why the same mindset applies to startups, and how Yves has partnered with more than 100 startups instead of working for fees. Shaun also gives a plain look at solar, where the panels haven’t changed much in 20 years but prices have dropped.

You also get the origin of the Telo mini electric truck, why a nuclear reactor founder is asking designers to make it beautiful, and what each guest thinks about AI as a tool. If you’re building something risky, or you’re curious how surfers, designers, and founders think about fear, this one is for you.

Big thanks to our sponsors: TUOM, Necodex, and Truebinding.

⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – Trailer
01:02 – Welcome to Silicon Zombies at the Park James Hotel
02:00 – Meet the Guests: Shaun’s Maui Solar Company & Yves’s Fuse Project
02:58 – Where Yves’s Design Ideas Come From
05:51 – Big-Wave Surfing: What It’s Like to Paddle Into a 60-Foot Wave
06:19 – Managing Fear: Breathing, Visualization & Risk Assessment
07:46 – Shaun’s Dad as Safety Lead & Why Seniority Matters
08:31 – What Surfing Does for Your Mental Health & Performance
11:01 – Chase What Scares You: The Cloudbreak Wave Story
12:28 – Solar Today: What Has Actually Improved in 20 Years?
13:35 – Why Hawaii Is the Best Market for Solar
14:52 – The Cost Per Watt: Maui vs. the Mainland vs. the World
16:20 – Yves’s Question: How Do You Know When to Jump Ship on a Startup?
18:50 – Timing, Overfunding & What Predicts Startup Failure
19:32 – Surfing & Startups: You Have to Love Punishment
20:43 – The Nemo Fish & the Whale Encounter
22:24 – Shaun’s Dolphin Dive in Fiji
23:49 – Audience Q&A Begins
24:07 – The Origin of the Telo Mini Truck
27:54 – Telo Specs: 350-Mile Range, Price & Release Timeline
28:52 – Solar for Vehicles: What’s Realistic
30:09 – Why Should a Nuclear Reactor Look Beautiful?
32:01 – Building Small Reactors for Medical Isotopes
33:32 – What’s Next for Yves: Zero-Emission Ceramics & Designing Toilet Paper
36:02 – How to Work With Yves
37:46 – What Does “Style” Mean in Surfing & in Startups?
39:17 – Wind Energy: Does It Work?
41:05 – Corporate Structure Advice for a Pre-Seed Startup
42:52 – Why Yves Became a Partner Instead of a Service Provider
46:11 – AI: Threat or Tool? Preserving Empathy in Design
48:59 – What Both Guests Are Excited About
50:14 – Where Yves Invests Time & Capital
52:02 – Why Shaun’s Most Valuable Investment Is Time
52:36 – Surfing as Meditation: Staying Present in the Water
54:35 – How to Connect With the Guests
55:24 – Closing

📍 About Silicon Zombies:

Silicon Zombies is a Top 5% global podcast for AI, Venture Capital & Tech Innovation, hosted by Nick Larson. 🧟 Straight from the heart of Silicon Valley, we bring you weekly deep-dives with elite AI engineers, VCs, and longevity innovators shaping the next decade. We cut through the hype vs. reality of emerging tech, SaaS, biohacking, and start-up investing, no fluff, just real insight. Whether you're a founder building your network, an engineer chasing technical depth, or simply staying ahead of the curve, we bridge the gap. Insider access to the world's brightest tech minds. Weekly live streams with a global community across 100+ countries.

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