Building Companies From Scratch: Inside Interplay’s Studio

Venture studios are quietly becoming one of the most effective models for company creation, but most people still don't understand what happens inside one.

For this podcast episode I sat down with Andy Bilinsky, Partner at Interplay leading our Studio, to break down exactly how we build companies from the ground up.

During our conversation, we covered:

What a venture studio actually is and how it differs from traditional VCWhy do we research industries deeply before ever writing a business planThe role of operating partners as true co-foundersWhy second- and third-time founders are choosing to build with a studio instead of going soloHow Interplay went from 3 new companies in Q4 2025 to targeting 10+ in 2026

Big thanks to Andy for pulling back the curtain on how we build. We’re grateful to have him here at Interplay.

⏱️ Chapter Markers:

00:00 Introduction to Andy Bilinsky

01:15 Andy's Entrepreneurial Background

03:30 Early Career: Hyper-Growth at Haute Look

05:45 BeachMint, Science Incubator & Chirp Ads

08:00 Launching Lensable From Scratch

09:30 Why Andy Joined Interplay