Luke Burgis

Welcome to Square One. This week we took a turn on the normal type of episode we have - I chatted with the author of one of the most influential books I’ve read over the past year - it’s called Wanting and the author is Luke Burgis. We all "want" things in life, but it's hard to pinpoint where those desires necessarily come from. Luke took a deep dive into the origins of desire in his book and shares frameworks that give perspective on how we come to want certain things in life and how we can transform our relationship with desire in ways that allow us to live a more aligned, fulfilling existence with other people. This was an especially interesting episode to me because this mentality and mindset applies as much to our professional lives in thinking about how to operate a business or invest in a business as it does our personal life in leading a fulfill life.

Welcome to Square One. This week we took a turn on the normal type of episode we have - I chatted with the author of one of the most influential books I’ve read over the past year - it’s called Wanting and the author is Luke Burgis. We all "want" things in life, but it's hard to pinpoint where those desires necessarily come from. Luke took a deep dive into the origins of desire in his book and shares frameworks that give perspective on how we come to want certain things in life and how we can transform our relationship with desire in ways that allow us to live a more aligned, fulfilling existence with other people. This was an especially interesting episode to me because this mentality and mindset applies as much to our professional lives in thinking about how to operate a business or invest in a business as it does our personal life in leading a fulfill life.

121: Luke Burgis, Author of Wanting

Ravi Gupta

Instacart

One of the most enjoyable and educational types of conversations we have on this show is with individuals that have operated and invested at the highest levels. It’s a unique blended perspective which provides insight and empathy for founders on their journey to build generational companies. This week I was thrilled to be joined by Ravi Gupta, Partner at Sequoia Capital. Prior to Sequoia, Ravi served as CFO/COO of Instacart. We covered a variety of topics in this wide ranging discussion - how to lead while being demanding &amp; supportive, desperation-induced focus, building enduring culture and the interrelation of agency, trust and authenticity. This was one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had on the podcast and I was lucky to have it with my good friend Ravi.

One of the most enjoyable and educational types of conversations we have on this show is with individuals that have operated and invested at the highest levels. It’s a unique blended perspective which provides insight and empathy for founders on their journey to build generational companies. This week I was thrilled to be joined by Ravi Gupta, Partner at Sequoia Capital. Prior to Sequoia, Ravi served as CFO/COO of Instacart. We covered a variety of topics in this wide ranging discussion - how to lead while being demanding &amp; supportive, desperation-induced focus, building enduring culture and the interrelation of agency, trust and authenticity. This was one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had on the podcast and I was lucky to have it with my good friend Ravi.

120: Ravi Gupta, Partner at Sequoia & Former COO/CFO, Instacart

Today we went deep into the world of barbershops - small business tech historically has been an underserved segment of the tech industry but over the last decade a number of interesting businesses have been built serving this cohort which has inspired a variety of applications. I talked to Songe Laron about building Squire - an all in one platform that helps barbers run their barbershops. This was a fun episode - Songe and team have raised over $100M to build this company. And though they’re doing really well, the journey has been anything but smooth (from initially buying a barbershop and running it to learn more about the space to operating through COVID). We broke down building through adversity and more in this conversation.

Today we went deep into the world of barbershops - small business tech historically has been an underserved segment of the tech industry but over the last decade a number of interesting businesses have been built serving this cohort which has inspired a variety of applications. I talked to Songe Laron about building Squire - an all in one platform that helps barbers run their barbershops. This was a fun episode - Songe and team have raised over $100M to build this company. And though they’re doing really well, the journey has been anything but smooth (from initially buying a barbershop and running it to learn more about the space to operating through COVID). We broke down building through adversity and more in this conversation.

119: Songe LaRon, Founder & CEO of Squire

Nick Mehta

This week, I was thrilled to chat with Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight. Gainsight is a particularly interesting company and story to unpack - they are the "category creators" of customer success. CS is a common place role and function in tech today, but creating software for CS was less than obvious 10 years ago. Since joining in 2013, Nick has led Gainsight through explosive growth, raised $150M+ and grown the team to 700+ people.  In this episode, we unpacked lessons learned building a category creator, how to work through hitting a wall on the journey of explosive growth and how Nick thinks about fundraising in today's market.

This week, I was thrilled to chat with Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight. Gainsight is a particularly interesting company and story to unpack - they are the "category creators" of customer success. CS is a common place role and function in tech today, but creating software for CS was less than obvious 10 years ago. Since joining in 2013, Nick has led Gainsight through explosive growth, raised $150M+ and grown the team to 700+ people.  In this episode, we unpacked lessons learned building a category creator, how to work through hitting a wall on the journey of explosive growth and how Nick thinks about fundraising in today's market.

118: Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight

Sherwin Gandhi

Jeeves

Today, I was thrilled to chat with Sherwin Gandhi, Co-Founder and President of Jeeves.   Since launching two years ago, Jeeves raised just about 100 million dollars in equity to develop a new type of financial platform that can lend, ensure, and underwrite capital to global companies.  In this conversation, we dug into how Sherwin thinks about the payment landscape building a global company from day one and how cryptocurrency will change the way we transact.

Today, I was thrilled to chat with Sherwin Gandhi, Co-Founder and President of Jeeves.   Since launching two years ago, Jeeves raised just about 100 million dollars in equity to develop a new type of financial platform that can lend, ensure, and underwrite capital to global companies.  In this conversation, we dug into how Sherwin thinks about the payment landscape building a global company from day one and how cryptocurrency will change the way we transact.

117: Sherwin Gandhi, Co-Founder & President of Jeeves

Jacob Helberg

This week, we go deep into what in the world is going in China. I was joined by Jacob Helberg, Co-Chair of the China Strategy Initiative at The Brookings Institution. Jacob is one of the most respected policy minds on this issue, and I wanted to have him on the program because he has a unique background in policy and technology, previously serving as Google's Global News Policy Lead. We dove into a wide range of topics in this discussion, including;   Whether we're in a cold war with China The idea of dual-purpose technologies and how they can change the rules of the game The right policy framework to be thinking about our engagement with China And a host of solutions on what the US can and should do over the next decade.

This week, we go deep into what in the world is going in China. I was joined by Jacob Helberg, Co-Chair of the China Strategy Initiative at The Brookings Institution. Jacob is one of the most respected policy minds on this issue, and I wanted to have him on the program because he has a unique background in policy and technology, previously serving as Google's Global News Policy Lead. We dove into a wide range of topics in this discussion, including;  <ul> <li>Whether we're in a cold war with China</li> <li>The idea of dual-purpose technologies and how they can change the rules of the game</li> <li>The right policy framework to be thinking about our engagement with China</li> <li>And a host of solutions on what the US can and should do over the next decade.</li></ul>

116: Jacob Helberg, Co-Chair of the China Strategy Initiative Working Group at The Brookings Institution

Today I was thrilled to be joined by Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder and CEO of Social Capital. Chamath is best known as an early member of Facebook’s Senior Executive Team where he played an instrumental role in the company’s exponential growth. Over the last decade, he has been investing actively in the private and public markets. Some of Chamath’s most notable investments include: Slack, Tesla, Amazon, Bitcoin, Virgin Galactic and Opendoor. We covered a variety of topics in this wide ranging discussion - our impending shift to decentralization, the role of risk capital in society, the myths about the private and public markets, how government and corporations can work together to fix capitalism. We rounded out the discussion on a more personal note and talked about what motivates Chamath and how he defines his north star. This was one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had on the pod.

Today I was thrilled to be joined by Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder and CEO of Social Capital. Chamath is best known as an early member of Facebook’s Senior Executive Team where he played an instrumental role in the company’s exponential growth. Over the last decade, he has been investing actively in the private and public markets. Some of Chamath’s most notable investments include: Slack, Tesla, Amazon, Bitcoin, Virgin Galactic and Opendoor. We covered a variety of topics in this wide ranging discussion - our impending shift to decentralization, the role of risk capital in society, the myths about the private and public markets, how government and corporations can work together to fix capitalism. We rounded out the discussion on a more personal note and talked about what motivates Chamath and how he defines his north star. This was one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had on the pod.

115: Chamath Palihapitiya, Founder & CEO of Social Capital

Ryan Breslow

Today we dove into the world of checkout. Everybody is familiar with check-out - it’s the last step in the purchase process when you’re buying something whether in person or online.    A less known fact is that purchase process drop-off is a $10 trillion problem for businesses worldwide. And checkout software is not nearly as easy of a problem as meets the eye.   This week I chatted with my friend Ryan Breslow - Founder &amp; CEO of Bolt. Bolt has created a full Checkout Operating System to help merchants unify / shoppers go through checkout. In this episode, we unpacked a lot of the network effects that they will now be able to take advantage of.   Bolt has grown its valuation 18x in 18 months to $6B and with 10 million shoppers on their platform has hit escape velocity to reach the next level of growth.

Today we dove into the world of checkout. Everybody is familiar with check-out - it’s the last step in the purchase process when you’re buying something whether in person or online.    A less known fact is that purchase process drop-off is a $10 trillion problem for businesses worldwide. And checkout software is not nearly as easy of a problem as meets the eye.   This week I chatted with my friend Ryan Breslow - Founder &amp; CEO of Bolt. Bolt has created a full Checkout Operating System to help merchants unify / shoppers go through checkout. In this episode, we unpacked a lot of the network effects that they will now be able to take advantage of.   Bolt has grown its valuation 18x in 18 months to $6B and with 10 million shoppers on their platform has hit escape velocity to reach the next level of growth.

114: Ryan Breslow, Founder & CEO of Bolt

Kunal Bahl

Snapdeal

The Indian startup ecosystem has been on an absolute tear over the last decade. With the increased success of founders, ever more capital flowing into the ecosystem and structural and cultural changes taking place across the entire country, India has never been more ripe for a promising technology future. Today we chatted with one of India’s most accomplished founders - Kunal Bahl. Kunal co-founded Snapdeal 13 years ago and continues to lead the company as CEO today. He also has started Titan Capital with his co-founder Rohit Bansal - Kunal, Rohit and team have invested in over 200 startups in India over the past few years. We picked his brain on building, scaling and investing in many of India’s most promising startups.

The Indian startup ecosystem has been on an absolute tear over the last decade. With the increased success of founders, ever more capital flowing into the ecosystem and structural and cultural changes taking place across the entire country, India has never been more ripe for a promising technology future. Today we chatted with one of India’s most accomplished founders - Kunal Bahl. Kunal co-founded Snapdeal 13 years ago and continues to lead the company as CEO today. He also has started Titan Capital with his co-founder Rohit Bansal - Kunal, Rohit and team have invested in over 200 startups in India over the past few years. We picked his brain on building, scaling and investing in many of India’s most promising startups.

113: Kunal Bahl, Co-Founder & CEO of Snapdeal

Helen Vaid

E-commerce and online brands have absolutely exploded post-COVID-19, and with it, a number of interesting platforms have been developed to help e-commerce businesses and brands take advantage of scale.    Today I chatted with Helen Vaid, CEO of Foundry - a brand platform that acquires and grows enduring digital brands. Foundry recently launched with $100M in equity capital from LightBay Capital and Monogram Capital Partners to acquire, integrate and scale enduring online businesses.  Helen has a really interesting background and perspective she brings to the table to lead the company.  She was formerly the Chief Global Customer Officer of Pizza Hut and has built a career scaling omnichannel for CPG companies. She’s also the only woman CEO amongst 60 aggregators that have raised almost $6 billion in capital since April 2020.

E-commerce and online brands have absolutely exploded post-COVID-19, and with it, a number of interesting platforms have been developed to help e-commerce businesses and brands take advantage of scale.    Today I chatted with Helen Vaid, CEO of Foundry - a brand platform that acquires and grows enduring digital brands. Foundry recently launched with $100M in equity capital from LightBay Capital and Monogram Capital Partners to acquire, integrate and scale enduring online businesses.  Helen has a really interesting background and perspective she brings to the table to lead the company.  She was formerly the Chief Global Customer Officer of Pizza Hut and has built a career scaling omnichannel for CPG companies. She’s also the only woman CEO amongst 60 aggregators that have raised almost $6 billion in capital since April 2020.

112: Helen Vaid, CEO of Foundry; Former Chief Customer Officer of Pizza Hut / BoD of Groupon

Square One unpacks the journey of founders, investors, and executives at the cutting edge of business.The conversations on the show dive deep into a variety of industries, business models, and the stories of how some of the most innovative companies of our time have been built.

I thought an early comment about the volume of the intro music was probably just petty until I listened and heard how bad it was. The good news is that the intro music only plays on the right side so I listen to the intros only on my left AirPod. 

Intro with The Mom Project was great and I can’t wait to hear interview with Allison Barr Allen it Fast!

Good interviews but intro music and volume is TERRIBLE

Your intro’s music is too loud comparing to the sound level of the words.
When you interview people that call in recording quality needs to improve. Echo, no clear sound, etc.

Production quality can be better

Square One unpacks the journey of founders, investors, and executives at the cutting edge of business. The conversations on the show dive deep into a variety of industries, business models, and the stories of how some of the most innovative companies of our time have been built.

Square One: Conversations with the Best in Business

Austen Allred

Education is broken. Since 1996, only three sectors have materially risen when adjusted for inflation. Construction is a bit more expensive than the inflation benchmark, healthcare and childcare prices have risen ~2x the benchmark, and college education has risen 4x inflation! This rising cost is having a significant impact on the economy - millennials are less likely to start businesses, own homes and are taking longer to "settle down" due to the crippling impact of student loans. A lot of companies have been trying to disrupt the higher ed space; one of the companies I've been most impressed by in the space is Lambda School - a 30 week immersive coding school that only charges students IF they secure a $50k+ job upon completion of the program. Lambda is one of the fastest growing startups in the Valley and just announced a fresh round of capital this week, led by Google Ventures and Stripe. It was a pleasure to have Austen on the show to get his thoughts on the future of education. Watch out for this company - Lambda has the potential to be one of the most important and impactful companies in the next 20 years.

Education is broken. Since 1996, only three sectors have materially risen when adjusted for inflation. Construction is a bit more expensive than the inflation benchmark, healthcare and childcare prices have risen ~2x the benchmark, and college education has risen 4x inflation!  This rising cost is having a significant impact on the economy - millennials are less likely to start businesses, own homes and are taking longer to "settle down" due to the crippling impact of student loans.  A lot of companies have been trying to disrupt the higher ed space; one of the companies I've been most impressed by in the space is Lambda School - a 30 week immersive coding school that only charges students IF they secure a $50k+ job upon completion of the program. Lambda is one of the fastest growing startups in the Valley and just announced a fresh round of capital this week, led by Google Ventures and Stripe.  It was a pleasure to have Austen on the show to get his thoughts on the future of education. Watch out for this company - Lambda has the potential to be one of the most important and impactful companies in the next 20 years.

22: Austen Allred, Founder and CEO of Lambda School

Harry Ritter

Today, the mental health crisis has reached a tipping point - one in five adults has a mental health condition and over the last 20 years there has been a 30% increase in suicide rates and 130% increase in depression amongst young adults. From a economic perspective, we're facing a staggering ~$200 billion in lost earnings (per annum) attributed to mental illness.  In many ways, there are troubling signs that these numbers will actually get worse - these conditions are further exacerbated by two phenomena: (1) uneven access to mental health services (the Mental Health America study found that 50+% of Americans don't have access to basic services) and (2) the stigma against mental health (many don't get the care they need even if they have access, because of the associated label).   Despite the sheer size and growing demand for services, (e.g. over 2.5 mental health providers for everyone one primary care physician and a labor market growing 25% per annum), the space is incredibly fragmented and underserved. NYC alone has a staggering 90% of its providers working as solo practitioners. The lack of sophistication, quality of user experience and shortages that follow sub-scale practice add up. In this episode, we unpacked all these dynamics and how software and design play a pivotal role in improving the patient and provider experience with Harry Ritter, Founder and CEO of Alma. Alma is a new practice model for therapists designed to elevate the therapy experience and simplify access to great care. It was a pleasure to have Harry on the show to discuss this distinctly important topic.

Today, the mental health crisis has reached a tipping point - one in five adults has a mental health condition and over the last 20 years there has been a 30% increase in suicide rates and 130% increase in depression amongst young adults. From a economic perspective, we're facing a staggering ~$200 billion in lost earnings (per annum) attributed to mental illness.  In many ways, there are troubling signs that these numbers will actually get worse - these conditions are further exacerbated by two phenomena: (1) uneven access to mental health services (the Mental Health America study found that 50+% of Americans don't have access to basic services) and (2) the stigma against mental health (many don't get the care they need even if they have access, because of the associated label).   Despite the sheer size and growing demand for services, (e.g. over 2.5 mental health providers for everyone one primary care physician and a labor market growing 25% per annum), the space is incredibly fragmented and underserved. NYC alone has a staggering 90% of its providers working as solo practitioners. The lack of sophistication, quality of user experience and shortages that follow sub-scale practice add up. In this episode, we unpacked all these dynamics and how software and design play a pivotal role in improving the patient and provider experience with Harry Ritter, Founder and CEO of Alma. Alma is a new practice model for therapists designed to elevate the therapy experience and simplify access to great care. It was a pleasure to have Harry on the show to discuss this distinctly important topic.

25 Harry Ritter, Founder and CEO of Alma

Brianne Kimmel

Joe Rogan gets more views than CNN. Kylie Jenner is dominating cosmetics (with less than 30 employees). Conor McGregor can sell more PPVs than UFC. So what’s going on? The labor markets we are living through today are at an inflection point. The age of the individual is on the rise and AI is automating away “old world” jobs, while increasing leverage for “new world” jobs. The McKinsey Global Institute did a study on looking at characteristics and occupations that could be automated away; the conclusion was that we are in for a significant shift over the next 20 years. This week I chatted with Brianne Kimmel on all things future of work.

Joe Rogan gets more views than CNN. Kylie Jenner is dominating cosmetics (with less than 30 employees). Conor McGregor can sell more PPVs than UFC. So what’s going on? The labor markets we are living through today are at an inflection point. The age of the individual is on the rise and AI is automating away “old world” jobs, while increasing leverage for “new world” jobs. The McKinsey Global Institute did a study on looking at characteristics and occupations that could be automated away; the conclusion was that we are in for a significant shift over the next 20 years. This week I chatted with Brianne Kimmel on all things future of work.

32: Brianne Kimmel, Managing Partner at Work Life Ventures

Jordan Fisher

Standard Cognition

Autonomous vehicles have been all the buzz over the last few years. Not to be outdone, Amazon has quietly been applying this same technology to checkout. In 2018, Amazon announced "Go" - a grocery story with frictionless checkout. Since then, Amazon has been building and launching stores across the country. While promising from a technology perspective, retailers have fears of being locked in the Amazon ecosystem; we saw the same net effect play out with Instacart. As Amazon acquired Whole Foods retailers turned to Instacart to offset Amazon's delivery capability.  Enter Standard Cognition (SC). SC is building autonomous checkout on the backs of ~$100M raised over the past 2 years. SC is focused exclusively on AI-powered checkout: SC enables autonomous checkout for brick and mortar retailers with an AI-powered computer vision platform.  In this episode, I chatted with Jordan Fisher (Founder/CEO of SC) and we touched on a number of topics, including: (1) the future of retail analytics and in-store experience, (2) the challenges of selling technology in a low margin industry, (3) how his technology differs from Amazon/why Amazon didn't create Go in stealth and take out all of the oxygen out of the room, (4) the implications of autonomous technology for global privacy standards and job creation/destruction and (6) ancillary possibilities that could be created as a byproduct of the SC technology at scale. 

Autonomous vehicles have been all the buzz over the last few years. Not to be outdone, Amazon has quietly been applying this same technology to checkout. In 2018, Amazon announced "Go" - a grocery story with frictionless checkout. Since then, Amazon has been building and launching stores across the country. While promising from a technology perspective, retailers have fears of being locked in the Amazon ecosystem; we saw the same net effect play out with Instacart. As Amazon acquired Whole Foods retailers turned to Instacart to offset Amazon's delivery capability.  Enter Standard Cognition (SC). SC is building autonomous checkout on the backs of ~$100M raised over the past 2 years. SC is focused exclusively on AI-powered checkout: SC enables autonomous checkout for brick and mortar retailers with an AI-powered computer vision platform.  In this episode, I chatted with Jordan Fisher (Founder/CEO of SC) and we touched on a number of topics, including: (1) the future of retail analytics and in-store experience, (2) the challenges of selling technology in a low margin industry, (3) how his technology differs from Amazon/why Amazon didn't create Go in stealth and take out all of the oxygen out of the room, (4) the implications of autonomous technology for global privacy standards and job creation/destruction and (6) ancillary possibilities that could be created as a byproduct of the SC technology at scale.

46: Jordan Fisher, CEO Standard Cognition

Elad Gil

Elad Gil really needs no introduction - he’s been integral in some of the most interesting and iconic companies in the valley. After fulfilling a PhD at MIT and a brief stint at McKinsey and Company, Elad went on to join Google and Twitter through their hypergrowth years; he joined Twitter when there were 90 employees and two and a half years later, he had helped the company scale to 1,500+. Elad is the founder and former CEO of Color Genomics and has invested in 20+ companies valued today at over $1B, including Airbnb, Coinbase, Checkr, Gusto, Instacart, OpenDoor, Pinterest, Square, Stripe and Wish. This episode was a ton of fun - I talked to Elad about his perspective on industry towns, why there aren’t many founders that come from Amazon, Microsoft, or Apple , his genomics research, how he evaluates companies and what are the most counterintuitive principles he taken away from investing in over 20 unicorns.

Elad Gil really needs no introduction - he’s been integral in some of the most interesting and iconic companies in the valley. After fulfilling a PhD at MIT and a brief stint at McKinsey and Company, Elad went on to join Google and Twitter through their hypergrowth years; he joined Twitter when there were 90 employees and two and a half years later, he had helped the company scale to 1,500+. Elad is the founder and former CEO of Color Genomics and has invested in 20+ companies valued today at over $1B, including Airbnb, Coinbase, Checkr, Gusto, Instacart, OpenDoor, Pinterest, Square, Stripe and Wish. This episode was a ton of fun - I talked to Elad about his perspective on industry towns, why there aren’t many founders that come from Amazon, Microsoft, or Apple , his genomics research, how he evaluates companies and what are the most counterintuitive principles he taken away from investing in over 20 unicorns.

38: Elad Gil, Legendary Investor & Operator

Mike Knoop

Zapier

In Silicon Valley today, it’s become a phenomenon to talk about raising less venture capital and going remote to offset capital cost and get better access to talent. This wasn’t always the dominant perspective; in fact it was often looked upon as an inhibitor to building a great company. Zapier - founded roughly a decade ago - has turned those two principles, amongst others on their head. Today the business has (still!) raised less than $1.5M, just recently crossed $50M in ARR and has been fully remote since Day 1. This episode was a ton of fun - I talked to Mike about how him, Wade and Bryan founded the company, their original vision for the business and how it has transformed a decade later, and how they have successfully led a remote company. Mike’s authenticity is audible in his voice - it was great to hear his very candid and humble perspective on building a once in a generation company.

In Silicon Valley today, it’s become a phenomenon to talk about raising less venture capital and going remote to offset capital cost and get better access to talent. This wasn’t always the dominant perspective; in fact it was often looked upon as an inhibitor to building a great company. Zapier - founded roughly a decade ago - has turned those two principles, amongst others on their head. Today the business has (still!) raised less than $1.5M, just recently crossed $50M in ARR and has been fully remote since Day 1. This episode was a ton of fun - I talked to Mike about how him, Wade and Bryan founded the company, their original vision for the business and how it has transformed a decade later, and how they have successfully led a remote company. Mike’s authenticity is audible in his voice - it was great to hear his very candid and humble perspective on building a once in a generation company.

37: Mike Knoop, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Zapier

Shaan Hathiramani

The future of education and skilling is becoming very interesting. When you apply first principles thinking, the classroom experience, curriculum and economic model are all up for grabs. This week I chatted with Shaan Hathiramani, Founder and CEO of Flockjay, a 12 week immersive online sales academy that only charges students IF they secure a $50k+ job upon completion of the program. We hear a lot about bootcamps in tech and the idea of the income share agreement is becoming a more popular way to align incentives, but we have yet to see these concepts married together for sales. So what inspired Shaan to start the company? He spoke with 250 universities and asked them a simple question “Did they have any courses that teaches anything related to Salesforce?” A resounding “no” empowered his belief that college curricula and the necessary skillset to be productive in the marketplace was out of balance.I got a chance to learn more about Flockjay’s current cohort and the backgrounds of the students are incredibly inspirational. Some are first generation Americans, some have done tours in Afghanistan and some grew up in foster care. The coolest part about Flockjay is it works for all demographics, all ages and all backgrounds. All you need is grit.It was a pleasure to have Shaan on the show to get his thoughts on the future of skilling. Watch out for this company — Flockjay is going to be really interesting to watch over the next decade.

The future of education and skilling is becoming very interesting. When you apply first principles thinking, the classroom experience, curriculum and economic model are all up for grabs. This week I chatted with Shaan Hathiramani, Founder and CEO of Flockjay, a 12 week immersive online sales academy that only charges students IF they secure a $50k+ job upon completion of the program.  We hear a lot about bootcamps in tech and the idea of the income share agreement is becoming a more popular way to align incentives, but we have yet to see these concepts married together for sales. So what inspired Shaan to start the company? He spoke with 250 universities and asked them a simple question “Did they have any courses that teaches anything related to Salesforce?” A resounding “no” empowered his belief that college curricula and the necessary skillset to be productive in the marketplace was out of balance. I got a chance to learn more about Flockjay’s current cohort and the backgrounds of the students are incredibly inspirational. Some are first generation Americans, some have done tours in Afghanistan and some grew up in foster care. The coolest part about Flockjay is it works for all demographics, all ages and all backgrounds. All you need is grit. It was a pleasure to have Shaan on the show to get his thoughts on the future of skilling. Watch out for this company — Flockjay is going to be really interesting to watch over the next decade.

30: Shaan Hathiramani, Founder and CEO of Flockjay

Phineas Barnes

Phin Barnes

There's a lot of noise in the venture ecosystem today on differentiation. When I think of a venture firm that defines differentiation, I think of First Round Capital. This week I chatted with Phin Barnes, General Partner at First Round, on a whole host of topics. Phin brings a unique operating background to the table - he spent six years helping to scale AND 1 Basketball from $15 million to over $225 million in revenue. - and has scaled this experience to a number of fantastic companies. In this conversation we discussed:  - Intentionality and why the best Founders have it (specifically he referenced Notion, Modern Fertility, Steady, Clearbit) - Initially working for free for First Round Capital with no intent to ever become a Partner - The importance of moving slow and challenging the cult of speed - Success being found in moments of discontinuity vs. continuity - Compensation for judgement vs. time - Tech enabled businesses vs. pure play software businesses (e.g. Peloton, WeWork) - Pattern recognition as a code for intellectual laziness  - Measuring learning on a "per dollar" basis - Why diversity isn't talked about enough and how he wants to change that 

There's a lot of noise in the venture ecosystem today on differentiation. When I think of a venture firm that defines differentiation, I think of First Round Capital. This week I chatted with Phin Barnes, General Partner at First Round, on a whole host of topics. Phin brings a unique operating background to the table - he spent six years helping to scale AND 1 Basketball from $15 million to over $225 million in revenue. - and has scaled this experience to a number of fantastic companies. In this conversation we discussed:  - Intentionality and why the best Founders have it (specifically he referenced Notion, Modern Fertility, Steady, Clearbit) - Initially working for free for First Round Capital with no intent to ever become a Partner - The importance of moving slow and challenging the cult of speed - Success being found in moments of discontinuity vs. continuity - Compensation for judgement vs. time - Tech enabled businesses vs. pure play software businesses (e.g. Peloton, WeWork) - Pattern recognition as a code for intellectual laziness  - Measuring learning on a "per dollar" basis - Why diversity isn't talked about enough and how he wants to change that

42: Phin Barnes, General Partner at First Round Capital

Steve Schlafman

You don’t have to search high or low in the tech community to find tips and tricks on every function in a business - product, engineering, fundraising - it’s all out there.Only recently have mindfulness, leadership and mental health become top topics that founders and investors have started systematically talking about. In this episode I talked to one of the best advocates of mental health and coaching in the tech community today - Steve has a unique perspective on coaching early stage founders and we talked about the challenges and opportunities in the space. Steve is a trained executive and performance coach. He works with founders and executives to help them fulfill their potential as leaders inside and outside their organizations. Steve decided to pursue a coaching certification because he had a strong desire to engage with founders more deeply and develop stronger relationships based on respect, trust, authenticity and vulnerability.  Steve’s words are important for all folks in the tech community to be better leaders.Steve has had a storied career as an investor. He has been investing in the NYC tech ecosystem for the last decade. He straddles B2B and B2C with a bias toward the weird. His human centric approach to investing has enabled him to lead investments in Giphy, Bowery Farming, Brightwheel, Groups, Boom Aerospace, Care/of, Citizen, Wag!, theSkimm, Breather, View The Space and many more. This episode was a ton of fun - Steve's authenticity is audible in his voice. It's no question why he's been such a great champion for founders.

You don’t have to search high or low in the tech community to find tips and tricks on every function in a business - product, engineering, fundraising - it’s all out there. Only recently have mindfulness, leadership and mental health become top topics that founders and investors have started systematically talking about. In this episode I talked to one of the best advocates of mental health and coaching in the tech community today - Steve has a unique perspective on coaching early stage founders and we talked about the challenges and opportunities in the space. Steve is a trained executive and performance coach. He works with founders and executives to help them fulfill their potential as leaders inside and outside their organizations. Steve decided to pursue a coaching certification because he had a strong desire to engage with founders more deeply and develop stronger relationships based on respect, trust, authenticity and vulnerability.  Steve’s words are important for all folks in the tech community to be better leaders. Steve has had a storied career as an investor. He has been investing in the NYC tech ecosystem for the last decade. He straddles B2B and B2C with a bias toward the weird. His human centric approach to investing has enabled him to lead investments in Giphy, Bowery Farming, Brightwheel, Groups, Boom Aerospace, Care/of, Citizen, Wag!, theSkimm, Breather, View The Space and many more.  This episode was a ton of fun - Steve's authenticity is audible in his voice. It's no question why he's been such a great champion for founders.

36: Steve Schlafman, Partner at Primary Venture Partners

Hayley Barna

Almost exactly a decade ago, a new bright eyed class of students entered Harvard Business School in September 2008. One month in, something happened that nobody could have anticipated: the economy completely fell apart. The world experienced the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. At a time where the future looked uncertain and bleak and taking career risk was probably the last thing on any rational person’s mind, something magical happened at Harvard Business School. In just a short time window the foundation for multiple multi-billion dollar companies was being laid: Rent the Runway, Blue Apron, Plated, StitchFix and BirchBox.  This week I caught up with Hayley Barna, co-founder of BirchBox and current General Partner at First Round Capital. One of the famed consumer success stories of the last decade, BirchBox revolutionized the application of the subscription e-commerce business model to beauty and retail. Hayley helped the company raise over $80M in venture capital, generate $100M+ annual revenues and deliver products into the hands of over 1 million monthly subscribers. In her current role at First Round, Hayley is focused on finding the next crop of great consumer companies.  We had a lot of fun in this one — Hayley is one of the most personable guests we’ve had on the podcast. The conversation is filled with great lessons, but a few highlights included: (1) why the downside of taking risks is overrated, (2) how impact at scale is all about people and culture, (3) the importance of balancing growth with sustainability and (4) Hayley’s belief that the best thing you can do for yourself is “just getting out there and doing it”.

Almost exactly a decade ago, a new bright eyed class of students entered Harvard Business School in September 2008. One month in, something happened that nobody could have anticipated: the economy completely fell apart. The world experienced the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. At a time where the future looked uncertain and bleak and taking career risk was probably the last thing on any rational person’s mind, something magical happened at Harvard Business School. In just a short time window the foundation for multiple multi-billion dollar companies was being laid: Rent the Runway, Blue Apron, Plated, StitchFix and BirchBox.  This week I caught up with Hayley Barna, co-founder of BirchBox and current General Partner at First Round Capital. One of the famed consumer success stories of the last decade, BirchBox revolutionized the application of the subscription e-commerce business model to beauty and retail. Hayley helped the company raise over $80M in venture capital, generate $100M+ annual revenues and deliver products into the hands of over 1 million monthly subscribers. In her current role at First Round, Hayley is focused on finding the next crop of great consumer companies.  We had a lot of fun in this one — Hayley is one of the most personable guests we’ve had on the podcast. The conversation is filled with great lessons, but a few highlights included: (1) why the downside of taking risks is overrated, (2) how impact at scale is all about people and culture, (3) the importance of balancing growth with sustainability and (4) Hayley’s belief that the best thing you can do for yourself is “just getting out there and doing it”.

18: Hayley Barna, Co-Founder of BirchBox and General Partner at First Round Capital

One of my favorite writers (and thinkers) in tech today is Morgan Housel. Morgan consistently puts out some of the most provocative thought pieces and draws connections that routinely leave me wanting more. This week, it was a thrill to chat with Morgan. We touched a number of topics across philosophy, investing and psychology. Unlike many of our other episodes, I didn't have a few "favorite moments" - the entire conversation was filled with nuance and timeless perspectives.  Also check out these pieces from Morgan that we referred to in the conversation: The Psychology of Money, Immeasurably Important, The Lifecycle of Greed and Fear, Tails You Win, Useful Hacks. You can read Morgan's other articles and subscribe to his writing on the Collaborative Fund blog.

One of my favorite writers (and thinkers) in tech today is Morgan Housel. Morgan consistently puts out some of the most provocative thought pieces and draws connections that routinely leave me wanting more. This week, it was a thrill to chat with Morgan. We touched a number of topics across philosophy, investing and psychology. Unlike many of our other episodes, I didn't have a few "favorite moments" - the entire conversation was filled with nuance and timeless perspectives.  Also check out these pieces from Morgan that we referred to in the conversation: The Psychology of Money, Immeasurably Important, The Lifecycle of Greed and Fear, Tails You Win, Useful Hacks. You can read Morgan's other articles and subscribe to his writing on the Collaborative Fund blog.

21: Morgan Housel, Partner at Collaborative Fund

Leo Polovets

As software eats the world, the idea of moats and the power of compounding have taken a new turn of influence. I chatted with Leo Polovets, General Partner at Susa Ventures on the importance of these two fundamental concepts and why they are so powerful, but yet still so counterintuitive in 2019. In this episode, Leo expanded on his experience from being one of the first dozen employees at LinkedIn to experiencing hypergrowth at Google and how this has enabled him to find and support the next set of generational companies, e.g. Robinhood, Flexport, Andela and LendUp. He expanded on Susa's investment thesis in funding entrepreneurs that are building highly defensible companies that leverage data, economies of scale, and network effects to build value and achieve longevity. We also touched on nuanced philosophical concepts in company creation such as "position vs. momentum" and "ego vs. perception." It was a pleasure to have Leo on the show. He's one of the most thoughtful venture investors I've had the privilege of getting to know.

As software eats the world, the idea of moats and the power of compounding have taken a new turn of influence. I chatted with Leo Polovets, General Partner at Susa Ventures on the importance of these two fundamental concepts and why they are so powerful, but yet still so counterintuitive in 2019. In this episode, Leo expanded on his experience from being one of the first dozen employees at LinkedIn to experiencing hypergrowth at Google and how this has enabled him to find and support the next set of generational companies, e.g. Robinhood, Flexport, Andela and LendUp. He expanded on Susa's investment thesis in funding entrepreneurs that are building highly defensible companies that leverage data, economies of scale, and network effects to build value and achieve longevity. We also touched on nuanced philosophical concepts in company creation such as "position vs. momentum" and "ego vs. perception." It was a pleasure to have Leo on the show. He's one of the most thoughtful venture investors I've had the privilege of getting to know.

26: Leo Polovets, General Partner at Susa Ventures

Ali Hamed

“First principles” thinking gets a lot of lip service today in technology and venture capital. While its in vogue to acknowledge this way of thinking, very few actually adhere to it in practice. In this episode, I chatted with Ali Hamed, Managing Partner at CoVenture — one of the most “first principles” thinkers I’ve had the privilege of speaking with and hosting on the show.  In this episode, Ali opened up what is possible when you think creatively — whether its how to structure a firm across multiple asset classes (lending, venture capital and crypto), invest in new digital asset classes (e.g. rolling up Instagram accounts) or evaluate a company’s progress (debunking the fallacy of MRR and growth thresholds necessarily indicating progress). Ali covered it all in this conversation.  It was a pleasure to have Ali on the show. He pushed my thinking through the conversation and I learned a lot from him. 

“First principles” thinking gets a lot of lip service today in technology and venture capital. While its in vogue to acknowledge this way of thinking, very few actually adhere to it in practice. In this episode, I chatted with Ali Hamed, Managing Partner at CoVenture — one of the most “first principles” thinkers I’ve had the privilege of speaking with and hosting on the show.  In this episode, Ali opened up what is possible when you think creatively — whether its how to structure a firm across multiple asset classes (lending, venture capital and crypto), invest in new digital asset classes (e.g. rolling up Instagram accounts) or evaluate a company’s progress (debunking the fallacy of MRR and growth thresholds necessarily indicating progress). Ali covered it all in this conversation.  It was a pleasure to have Ali on the show. He pushed my thinking through the conversation and I learned a lot from him.

27: Ali Hamed, Managing Partner at CoVenture

Paul Arnold

Data driven venture capital is a controversial topic with strong opinions attached. The classic rebuttal of data driven VC is the idea that successful early stage startups look wildly different and so even if you do capture clean data, there is a fundamental skew (e.g. either you misplace predictive importance on certain variables or your data set is not large enough) so the outcomes would be falsely comforting. On the other side of the coin, however are venture firms that have not only positioned themselves as data oriented firms, but have broken through this narrative and realized outstanding returns as a function of this orientation. Enter Switch Ventures. A seed stage venture fund focused on identifying the most talented startup entrepreneurs through data science. Paul Arnold, founder of Switch, has longstanding experience applying data driven strategies with C-Suites, Boards and front line employees to drive change. He was a senior executive at AppDirect and helped build it into the unicorn it is today; prior to AppDirect, Paul was with McKinsey &amp; Company in Silicon Valley. It was a pleasure to have Paul on the podcast. We talked about a number of topics in this episode. Some of my favorite, included: (1) the early days of Switch, (2) his data driven investment approach, (3) how his approach has evolved as he’s gained more experience as an investor and (4) where he believes the future hubs of innovation will be. Follow Paul’s writing on Forbes and get in touch with his team at Switch if you’re building a company and interested in his approach.

Data driven venture capital is a controversial topic with strong opinions attached. The classic rebuttal of data driven VC is the idea that successful early stage startups look wildly different and so even if you do capture clean data, there is a fundamental skew (e.g. either you misplace predictive importance on certain variables or your data set is not large enough) so the outcomes would be falsely comforting. On the other side of the coin, however are venture firms that have not only positioned themselves as data oriented firms, but have broken through this narrative and realized outstanding returns as a function of this orientation.  Enter Switch Ventures. A seed stage venture fund focused on identifying the most talented startup entrepreneurs through data science. Paul Arnold, founder of Switch, has longstanding experience applying data driven strategies with C-Suites, Boards and front line employees to drive change. He was a senior executive at AppDirect and helped build it into the unicorn it is today; prior to AppDirect, Paul was with McKinsey &amp; Company in Silicon Valley.  It was a pleasure to have Paul on the podcast. We talked about a number of topics in this episode. Some of my favorite, included: (1) the early days of Switch, (2) his data driven investment approach, (3) how his approach has evolved as he’s gained more experience as an investor and (4) where he believes the future hubs of innovation will be.  Follow Paul’s writing on Forbes and get in touch with his team at Switch if you’re building a company and interested in his approach.

35: Paul Arnold, Founder and General Partner of Switch Ventures

Brynn Putnam

We are notorious as a society for falling in love with the next “fitness fad.” Whether its diet types, workout regimens or new fitness equipment, we’re suckers for “quick fix” schemes. It’s pretty rare that we come across a product that revolutionizes the way we workout — and in the age of connected hardware and software — we’re living through a paradigm shift that allows us to reimagine the fitness experience from first principles.This week, I got the chance to chat with Brynn Putnam, Founder and CEO of Mirror, a connected fitness system that streams live and on-demand classes to users in-home via a sleek responsive display. Mirror enables users to train with experts, work out with friends and get real-time personalization.The confidence from the venture community for Mirror runs deep — the company has raised $40M+ from leading investors, including Spark, First Round, and Box Group — and it’s easy to see why. The market is huge, the product is fantastic and Brynn is an incredibly thoughtful leader. I found many of her reflections insightful; specifically it was most interesting to hear her talk about: (1) running a combined hardware, software and content business, (2) thinking about the business as a “media company” vs. a “technology company” and (3) the pathway to evolve Mirror from a fitness business into “the defacto screen in your life.” It was a pleasure to have Brynn on the show to get her thoughts on the future of connected home. This is going to be a fun company to follow.

We are notorious as a society for falling in love with the next “fitness fad.” Whether its diet types, workout regimens or new fitness equipment, we’re suckers for “quick fix” schemes. It’s pretty rare that we come across a product that revolutionizes the way we workout — and in the age of connected hardware and software — we’re living through a paradigm shift that allows us to reimagine the fitness experience from first principles. This week, I got the chance to chat with Brynn Putnam, Founder and CEO of Mirror, a connected fitness system that streams live and on-demand classes to users in-home via a sleek responsive display. Mirror enables users to train with experts, work out with friends and get real-time personalization. The confidence from the venture community for Mirror runs deep — the company has raised $40M+ from leading investors, including Spark, First Round, and Box Group — and it’s easy to see why. The market is huge, the product is fantastic and Brynn is an incredibly thoughtful leader. I found many of her reflections insightful; specifically it was most interesting to hear her talk about: (1) running a combined hardware, software and content business, (2) thinking about the business as a “media company” vs. a “technology company” and (3) the pathway to evolve Mirror from a fitness business into “the defacto screen in your life.”  It was a pleasure to have Brynn on the show to get her thoughts on the future of connected home. This is going to be a fun company to follow.

31: Brynn Putnam, Founder and CEO of Mirror

For an industry that has made its mark on funding disruption, venture capital hasn't changed much over the past 30 years. With new entrants (cue: Softbank) and discussions about venture dollars primarily pouring into real estate and customer acquisition, it has become more common to question whether venture capital is the right type of capital for all stages of a business. Why do we treat businesses as black and white binary entities? Equity or debt. That's it. Enter Clearbanc - Clearbanc is building an alternative capital source for entrepreneurs. The company has raised $300M+ and funded thousands of entrepreneurs. Andrew and I chatted about why Clearbanc is a truly differentiated source of capital, at what point is it most applicable and when does it become more preferable to traditional equity or debt.  Clearbanc's innovation has significant potential implications for the entire venture market. If you believe in the premise that equity capital is best suited to fund risk and experimentation and a new source of capital (a la what Clearbanc provides) is best suited to fund repeatable growth, a new asset class has the potential to right size how we think about segments of capital markets. Our conversation extended well beyond the nuts and bolts of the capital stack - we got knee deep into startup operations. We talked pivots (Clearbanc started the business focused on Uber drivers!), hiring, building in Toronto and the pros/cons vs. being based in Silicon Valley, unique operating practices at Clearbanc and why the company's culture is a mix of Lululemon and Bridgewater.

For an industry that has made its mark on funding disruption, venture capital hasn't changed much over the past 30 years. With new entrants (cue: Softbank) and discussions about venture dollars primarily pouring into real estate and customer acquisition, it has become more common to question whether venture capital is the right type of capital for all stages of a business. Why do we treat businesses as black and white binary entities? Equity or debt. That's it. Enter Clearbanc - Clearbanc is building an alternative capital source for entrepreneurs. The company has raised $300M+ and funded thousands of entrepreneurs. Andrew and I chatted about why Clearbanc is a truly differentiated source of capital, at what point is it most applicable and when does it become more preferable to traditional equity or debt.  Clearbanc's innovation has significant potential implications for the entire venture market. If you believe in the premise that equity capital is best suited to fund risk and experimentation and a new source of capital (a la what Clearbanc provides) is best suited to fund repeatable growth, a new asset class has the potential to right size how we think about segments of capital markets. Our conversation extended well beyond the nuts and bolts of the capital stack - we got knee deep into startup operations. We talked pivots (Clearbanc started the business focused on Uber drivers!), hiring, building in Toronto and the pros/cons vs. being based in Silicon Valley, unique operating practices at Clearbanc and why the company's culture is a mix of Lululemon and Bridgewater.

40: Andrew D'Souza, CEO of Clearbanc

Sara Mauskopf

Childcare is fundamentally shifting - the share of households where both parents work hit 66% in 2016, up from 49% in 1970, according to the Pew Research Center.  Sara Mauskopf is the CEO and co-founder of Winnie (https://winnie.com), a marketplace for child care built on powerful data systems and backed by a trusted community of parents and providers. Parents use Winnie to discover high-quality local daycares and preschools and learn all about their programs including detailed descriptions, photos, tuition information, licensing status, availability data and more. Child care providers use Winnie to fill their open spaces, build their wait lists, and get support and resources to run their business efficiently. Winnie was started in early 2016 when Sara became frustrated with the long search to find child care for their young children. Now Winnie is used throughout the United States and is helping connect millions of parents with high quality child care. This conversation was one of the most genuine we've had on the podcast - Sara talked fundraising while pregnant, why Winnie is for ALL parents and not just moms, equality in the workplace and equality at home, and what keeps Sara down to earth maintaining perspective while running a high growth company.

Childcare is fundamentally shifting - the share of households where both parents work hit 66% in 2016, up from 49% in 1970, according to the Pew Research Center.  Sara Mauskopf is the CEO and co-founder of Winnie (<a href="https://winnie.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://winnie.com</a>), a marketplace for child care built on powerful data systems and backed by a trusted community of parents and providers. Parents use Winnie to discover high-quality local daycares and preschools and learn all about their programs including detailed descriptions, photos, tuition information, licensing status, availability data and more. Child care providers use Winnie to fill their open spaces, build their wait lists, and get support and resources to run their business efficiently. Winnie was started in early 2016 when Sara became frustrated with the long search to find child care for their young children. Now Winnie is used throughout the United States and is helping connect millions of parents with high quality child care. This conversation was one of the most genuine we've had on the podcast - Sara talked fundraising while pregnant, why Winnie is for ALL parents and not just moms, equality in the workplace and equality at home, and what keeps Sara down to earth maintaining perspective while running a high growth company.

43: Sara Mauskopf, Founder and CEO of Winnie

Ash Fontana

“Data is the new oil” has become one of the most common catch phrases in popular media. It makes sense right? Wrong. At least according to Ash Fontana, Managing Director at Zetta Venture Partners and one of the most nuanced thinkers on AI today. Ash believes we are squarely in the fourth era of computing, the intelligence era. In this era, data aggregation is less interesting than matching data sets to tactical problems. And with good reason. The intelligence era is an inflection point; traditional I.T. infrastructure will change to enable the development of self-learning software and previously data-starved markets — from agriculture to sales — will benefit from the information generated by self-learning software. Ash thinks about AI companies with an incredibly human centric approach; when he evaluates data sets and companies, he asks how much human activity can the company free up if it works at scale. In this episode, we chatted all things AI with Ash. We talked about a number of topics; some of my favorite included: (1) the utility of data for AI first companies, (2) why data strategy is fundamentally different for an AI driven company vs. a normal software company, (3) why Ash is bearish on SaaS and (4) how do you compete with Google, Amazon and Facebook in a data driven world.It was a pleasure to have Ash on the show to get his thoughts on the future of AI. His perspective was incredibly thoughtful and I personally learned an incredible amount from him in this conversation.

“Data is the new oil” has become one of the most common catch phrases in popular media. It makes sense right? Wrong. At least according to Ash Fontana, Managing Director at Zetta Venture Partners and one of the most nuanced thinkers on AI today.  Ash believes we are squarely in the fourth era of computing, the intelligence era. In this era, data aggregation is less interesting than matching data sets to tactical problems. And with good reason. The intelligence era is an inflection point; traditional I.T. infrastructure will change to enable the development of self-learning software and previously data-starved markets — from agriculture to sales — will benefit from the information generated by self-learning software.  Ash thinks about AI companies with an incredibly human centric approach; when he evaluates data sets and companies, he asks how much human activity can the company free up if it works at scale.  In this episode, we chatted all things AI with Ash. We talked about a number of topics; some of my favorite included: (1) the utility of data for AI first companies, (2) why data strategy is fundamentally different for an AI driven company vs. a normal software company, (3) why Ash is bearish on SaaS and (4) how do you compete with Google, Amazon and Facebook in a data driven world. It was a pleasure to have Ash on the show to get his thoughts on the future of AI. His perspective was incredibly thoughtful and I personally learned an incredible amount from him in this conversation.

33: Ash Fontana, Managing Director at Zetta Venture Partners

Julien Smith

Julien Smith is one of the most direct, thoughtful and intense Founders I've had the pleasure of having on the show. Julien founded Breather in 2012 and has since raised $150M+ to build out the business. He's the New York Times bestselling author of three books. Two of these, Trust Agents and The Impact Equation, were written with Chris Brogan. The third, The Flinch, has consistently remained one of the top read Kindle books since it was published in 2011. Having Julien on the show was a pleasure - he's extremely original in thought and has some of the best content on the internet. We talked about his article "The Complete Guide to Not Giving an F", the importance of showing up, failing your way to the top, self awareness, and how we as a tech community can generally improve. This episode was a blast. 

Julien Smith is one of the most direct, thoughtful and intense Founders I've had the pleasure of having on the show. Julien founded Breather in 2012 and has since raised $150M+ to build out the business. He's the New York Times bestselling author of three books. Two of these, <a href="http://inoveryourhead.net/trust-agents/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Trust Agents</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Impact-Equation-Making-Things/dp/1591844908" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Impact Equation</a>, were written with <a href="http://chrisbrogan.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chris Brogan</a>. The third, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Flinch-ebook/dp/B0062Q7S3S/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Flinch</a>, has consistently remained one of the top read Kindle books since it was published in 2011. Having Julien on the show was a pleasure - he's extremely original in thought and has some of the best content on the internet. We talked about his article "The Complete Guide to Not Giving an F", the importance of showing up, failing your way to the top, self awareness, and how we as a tech community can generally improve. This episode was a blast.

41: Julien Smith, Founder of Breather

Auren Hoffman

Today’s guest is Auren Hoffman, Former CEO of LiveRamp and current CEO of Safegraph. Auren has had one of the most storied careers of SaaS founders in the Valley and is known for having an often unique and contrarian perspective. In this conversation we discussed why the best businesses are at the intersection of value creation, personal advantage and a contrarian perspective; whether businesses should target niches or broad markets; and the advantages of being older as computing power becomes more powerful.

Today’s guest is Auren Hoffman, Former CEO of LiveRamp and current CEO of Safegraph. Auren has had one of the most storied careers of SaaS founders in the Valley and is known for having an often unique and contrarian perspective. In this conversation we discussed why the best businesses are at the intersection of value creation, personal advantage and a contrarian perspective; whether businesses should target niches or broad markets; and the advantages of being older as computing power becomes more powerful.

39: Auren Hoffman, CEO LiveRamp and SafeGraph

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