In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Isaiah Chavous and James Paul, co-founders of Noctal, to unpack their journey from student government and film sets to launching one of the most ambitious sound design startups in the creator economy. Isaiah, a former CU Boulder student body president, and James, a Hollywood producer turned community builder, share how their shared grit and deep bond became the foundation for Noctal.
Their conversation dives into the early sparks that led to building a platform that uses AI to radically simplify sound design—turning a traditionally tedious process into a powerful creative copilot for content creators. From Hollywood blockbusters to viral Reels, they explain how Nocturnal is bridging human artistry with cutting-edge technology, giving independent creators and studios alike a faster, more intuitive way to bring their content to life.
Dan and the duo go beyond the tech—discussing startup culture, the future of AI, work ethic in the post-COVID era, and what it really takes to build a founding team that lasts. From burning down in the Palisades fire to bootstrapping a global engineering team, this episode is a masterclass in resilience, vision, and hustle.
Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book
To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com
