Greymatter

Latest Episodes:

Reid Hoffman | Calculating Risk: Evaluating, Mitigating, and Leveraging Risks During Covid Jul 30, 2020

Show notes

Today’s entrepreneurs find themselves falling from the cliff and assembling a plane with tools that are on fire while being attacked by a swarm of murder hornets. Yet despite the increased risks, entrepreneurs are still taking those leaps of faith, for which we should all be grateful. Greylock partner Reid Hoffman and his Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh explore how to help and encourage those entrepreneurs by offering some thoughts on how to mitigate – or even leverage – the present set of risks to accelerate their progress.

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Shortcut | Building for the Distributed Future Jul 28, 2020

Show notes

NOTE: Throughout this episode, the company is referred to as "Clubhouse". In 2021, the company re-branded to Shortcut(https://shortcut.com/) Software startup Shortcut (previously named Clubhouse) built its product specifically for distributed teams, and the company had a high percentage of employees working remotely even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. But Shortcut CEO and co-founder Kurt Schrader said the shift to 100% remote work has provided fresh insight into the need for more and better tools that effectively recreate the ambient intelligence of working in an office. Kurt sat down with Greylock general partner Sarah Guo to discuss how the company is internally adapting to remote-first, how usage patterns are changing among their customers, and how Shortcut is thinking about the next phase of product development. This episode is part of the Greymatter #WorkFromAnywhere series hosted by Greylock partners Sarah Guo and David Thacker.

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Reid Hoffman | M&A or IPO? Jul 23, 2020

Show notes

Reid Hoffman shares his perspective on the fundamental choice that all venture-backed entrepreneurs face simple: M&A or IPO? Fortunately, there is one approach that allows you to build to go public AND to sell. You can read the essay based on this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/reid-hoffman-ma-or-ipo/

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Okta CEO Todd MacKinnon | Dynamic Work Jul 21, 2020

Show notes

On this episode of Greymatter, Okta CEO and co-founder Todd McKinnon talks with Greylock partner Sarah Guo about leadership lessons for times of dramatic change, and how his team is meeting the surge in customer demand for Okta since Covid-19 hit. Todd, who left his job leading engineering at Salesforce in 2009 to start Okta, a Greylock portfolio company, reflects on the platform shifts that convinced him to take the leap, the parallels he sees today, and what's next for Okta. Finally, for over a year predating the pandemic, Todd has been a proponent of the nuanced “dynamic work" (rather than fully remote work). He explains that philosophy and shares Okta’s approach to talent. This episode is part of Greymatter's #WorkFromAnywhere series hosted by Greylock partners Sarah Guo and David Thacker.

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Reid Hoffman and Saam Motamedi | The Virtual VC Jul 16, 2020

Show notes

Months into the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the top questions on entrepreneurs’ minds is whether venture capital firms are still making investments. The short answer is “Yes,” but the details are important enough that the partners of Greylock thought it was worth exploring in greater depth. On the latest episode of Greymatter, Greylock investors Reid Hoffman and Saam Motamedi sat down with Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh, who guided a discussion of how Covid-19 has – and hasn’t – changed how we invest at Greylock.

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Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo | Becoming a Remote-First Company Jul 14, 2020

Show notes

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tech startup Quora had a strong office culture and discouraged employees from working remotely most of the time. But once the company had no choice, Quora CEO and co-founder Adam D'Angelo says they discovered the benefits of working from anywhere far outweigh the drawbacks. In late June, Quora announced it would become a remote first company. Adam discusses the decision with Greylock partner David Thacker. This episode is part of Greymatter's #WorkFromAnywhere series hosted by David and fellow Greylock partners Sarah Guo.

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Reid Hoffman | Entrepreneurship Now Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the environment for entrepreneurship. In many ways, entrepreneurship has become more challenging; in a few ways, and for a few people, it has become easier. For all of us among the broader society, it has become more important. The pandemic has shown us the harsh reality of the world as it is. That new clarity may allow entrepreneurship to make more rapid progress towards how it should be.

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Box CEO Aaron Levie | Breakthrough Innovation: Evolving into a Digital-First Business Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

Box CEO and co-founder Aaron Levie sat down with Greylock General Partner Sarah Guo on Greymatter to discuss his company’s journey during the past decade leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, how it has changed their product roadmap, and where he believes the opportunities for innovation still lie. This episode is part of Greymatter's #WorkFromAnywhere series hosted by Greylock partners Sarah Guo and David Thacker.

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Reid Hoffman | Building Companies in Times of Change Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

Reid Hoffman offers advice for the Class of startups in 2020. While there is a tendency for pundits to say that everything has changed, and that we’re in a new world, Reid posits that more is actually the same than different. Converting challenge into opportunity is a normal part of the entrepreneurial journey, and right now is precisely when people with entrepreneurial skills are accomplishing amazing things, because generally speaking, it's actually better in the long-run to successfully start a business during a recession than during a bull market.

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Notable Health | Modernizing the Medical Experience Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

This episode of Greymatter is part of a series of conversations with Greylock-backed health technology startups. This episode features Pranay Kapadia, the CEO and co-founder of Notable Health, which has created software to automate one of the most out-dated, costly and time-consuming parts of healthcare: administration. Notable partners with health systems to replace manual, in-person workflow systems - like billing and clinical note-taking - with automated digital tools. The company has seen an uptick in business and ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit, which shifted most healthcare services to virtual experiences.

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