Founding Stories
Built from scratch
How founders actually built their businesses — the real story behind the pitch deck.
Among The Makers
Real conversations with people who build their own path. Founders. Developers. Career switchers. Expats. Technologists. Misfits with a plan. This is a podcast about all of them — and the mindset they share. Hosted by Francois Coertze from Mallorca, Spain.
From Corporate Law to Bootstrapping a Tech Startup
EP 01: Sarah Chen
Stories We Tell
Founding Stories
Lives Built Abroad
Career Reinvention
Building with Tech
Property & Place
Starting from Nothing
Founding Stories
Lives Built Abroad
Career Reinvention
Building with Tech
Property & Place
Starting from Nothing
What Makes This Show Different
Most podcasts pick a lane — business, tech, or real estate. This one doesn't. Among The Makers follows a mindset, not an industry. The host isn't a journalist asking questions from a script. He's a builder who's been in the same rooms, made the same bets, and broken the same things. That changes every conversation.
Peer-to-Peer
No interviewer. No guest. Just two builders pulling up chairs, comparing notes, and getting honest about what it actually takes.
Cross-Domain
Business. Property. Tech. Careers. Expat life. The common thread isn't the industry — it's the person behind it. If they built it on their own terms, they belong here.
Unscripted
No scripts. No polished soundbites. Just honest conversations about what worked, what broke, and what they'd do differently next time.
Latest Episodes
Our newest conversations. Each one is a window into how a different builder thinks, decides, and creates.
What Is Among The Makers?
Among The Makers started with a question: what does a tech founder in Berlin have in common with a property developer in Mallorca, a career switcher in Lisbon, and a bootstrapper in Cape Town?
They build things. Their own things. On their own terms.
This podcast isn't about one industry or one version of success. It's about the mindset that connects people who create — whether they're building companies, homes, careers, or entirely new lives in places they never expected to land.
The host, Francois Coertze, isn't a journalist. He's a property developer, entrepreneur, and AI consultant based in Mallorca. Every conversation starts from shared experience — not from behind a desk with a list of questions.
Companies I'm involved with
Built for Builders
If you've ever started something from scratch, quit the safe route, moved to a new country with a suitcase and a plan, or just quietly built a life that looks nothing like the template — this show was made for you.
Lives Built Abroad
Lives built abroad
Expats, relocators, and people creating lives in countries they never expected to call home.
Career Reinvention
New paths, no map
People who switched careers, went self-taught, or invented roles that didn't exist before them.
From the Notebook
The stories behind the stories. Deep dives, behind-the-scenes notes, and the things we couldn't fit into the episode.
EP 01 Deep Dive
The Unspoken Reality of Leaving Corporate Law
What we didn't get to in the episode: the identity crisis that hits when you step away from a prestigious title to bootstrap a tech product from your living room in Lisbon.
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EP 02 Deep Dive
Navigating Mediterranean Zoning Laws
Marcus shared his philosophy on affordable housing in the episode. Here's what he didn't talk about: the brutal, step-by-step reality of getting permits approved on an island.
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EP 03 Deep Dive
Why Golden Handcuffs Are So Hard to Break
Ayesha's exit from Big Tech didn't happen overnight. Here's the 18-month financial and mental preparation timeline she followed before making the jump.
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