Grit

Latest Episodes:

#204 Founder & Former CEO Blue Bottle, James Freeman: After the Exit Aug 19, 2024

Show notes

Guest: James Freeman, Founder and Former CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee

In the six or so years since he sold his last shares of Blue Bottle Coffee to Nestlé, James Freeman has had a lot of time to ruminate — about how he succeeded in creating a unique café experience, and also the ways he failed his workers as a manager. But he’s already thinking about how he’ll be better in round 2. “I've changed so much — physically, mentally, emotionally — I feel like I could be a better collaborator,” James says.

In this episode, James and Joubin discuss All About Coffee by William Ukers, Oliver Strand, performance anxiety, MongoMusic, farmers’ markets, “first touch” design, Parisian cafés, self-deception, Facebook ads, “great exits,” The Picture of Dorian Gray, “frictionless” coffee, Zeno’s Paradox, Yoda, iced oat lattes, espresso machines, The Devil Wears Prada, Steve Jobs, Angela Duckworth, and sandpaper.

Chapters:

(02:25) - Coffee is culture
(07:10) - James’ music career
(11:20) - Moving into business
(15:17) - Starting Blue Bottle
(17:55) - “Fun until it wasn’t”
(21:09) - Food vs. tech in San Francisco
(23:15) - The coffee shop experience
(29:18) - Dissatisfaction and bad management
(33:42) - Exhaustion
(36:22) - Exit
(37:39) - Anxiety and falling apart
(40:31) - Paying the bills vs. the high life
(44:08) - Visiting Blue Bottle today
(46:53) - The decision to sell
(51:35) - Could he have stayed?
(54:01) - The next coffee shop(s)
(57:35) - Returning to the ring
(01:01:39) - What if it works out?
(01:03:30) - What “grit” means to James

Links:

Connect with James

Connect with Joubin

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

#203 CEO Niantic, John Hanke: Buried Ships Aug 12, 2024

Show notes

Guest: John Hanke, CEO of Niantic

When Pokémon Go launched, Niantic CEO John Hanke was enjoying a tranquil walk through a bamboo forest near Kyoto with his son. When he got back, it was all hands on deck: Building on a platform Niantic had developed for its previous game, Ingress, Pokémon Go was a runaway success story, earning $100 million dollars in revenue in its first week, and $1 billion in its first seven months. “I had a huge amount of anxiety that this is just too good to be true,” John recalls. “When are the wheels going to come off? What’s going to go wrong?”

In this episode, John and Joubin discuss San Francisco’s history, Noam Bardin, Google Street View, David Lawee, AR glasses, Field Trip and Ingress, Tsunekazu Ishihara, gaming outside, Gilman Louie, Frank Slootman, mellowing out, Thomas Kurian, Jay Chaudhry, commute burnout, daily yoga, Xerox PARC, Mark Zuckerberg, Apple Vision Pro, the history of gaming, and talking to computers.

Chapters:

(02:17) - Waze and Google Maps
(05:39) - John’s childhood heroes
(07:38) - Pokémon Go’s first week
(10:13) - Maps as a platform
(13:56) - Spinning Niantic off of Google
(17:36) - Hyperscaling
(19:05) - Finding Niantic’s mission
(22:45) - Startups and families
(24:15) - Adrenaline and gas
(30:17) - Drive without desperation
(34:42) - Negotiating with the Pokémon Company
(38:25) - Zero to a million
(41:28) - Relief and responsibility
(43:44) - Sustaining engagement
(47:18) - Enjoying the ride more
(50:57) - Rules for balance
(55:42) - Augmented reality and wearables
(01:01:38) - Social games
(01:04:14) - LLMs and the voice UI
(01:06:52) - Who Niantic is hiring

Links:

Connect with John

Connect with Joubin

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

#202 Chairman of Qualcomm, Mark McLaughlin: The Right Pitch Aug 05, 2024

Show notes

Guest: Mark McLaughlin, chairman of the board at Qualcomm

When he was 24, Mark McLaughlin thought his career was over. Since childhood, he had dreamed of attending West Point and joining the Army, but a helicopter crash left him unable to serve, with a medical discharge. However, the crash also let him stay closer to his then-girlfriend Karen. They married and raised three children, and Mark found success in his new career, serving as CEO of Palo Alto Networks and now chairman of the board at Qualcomm. “In hindsight,” he says, “I would tell you the worst thing that ever happened in my life was the best thing that ever happened in my life.”

In this episode, Mark and Joubin discuss semi-retirement, Palo Alto Networks, identity crises, West Point, homeschooling, self-awareness, working on the plane, Walter Reed Hospital, Nikesh Arora, Cristiano Amon, non-founder CEOs, Paul Jacobs, Verisign, reference interviews, rising to the occasion, and fortitude.

Chapters:

(00:57) - Mark’s reputation and family
(09:40) - “What am I doing?”
(14:58) - Deciding to step away
(16:55) - Overcoming work addiction
(22:15) - Mandatory sacrifice
(24:25) - Carl Eschenbach
(27:12) - The people who matter
(32:11) - Energy vs. adrenaline
(37:31) - The helicopter crash
(44:02) - Leaving Palo Alto Networks
(50:05) - Bungled CEO transitions
(54:24) - “Detox” time off
(57:32) - Waiting for the right pitch
(01:04:48) - The at-home interview
(01:08:59) - Work in perspective
(01:12:10) - What “grit” means to Mark

Links:

Connect with Mark

Connect with Joubin

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

#201 CEO Lyft, David Risher: The Ride Jul 29, 2024

Show notes

Guest: David Risher, CEO of Lyft

David Risher can measure his career in phone calls, from the one that introduced him to Jeff Bezos in 1995, to the call from the Lyft board in 2023, asking him to vie for the CEO job. But initially, he believed his life’s legacy might be the nonprofit Worldreader, which has brought books to more than 22 million readers around the globe; he had to convince himself that turning Lyft around during one of its most difficult eras was also a call worth answering.

In this episode, David and Joubin discuss reliable exercise, pickleball, Sean Aggarwal, John Zimmer and Logan Green, return to office, Women+ Connect, reference checks, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, Adam Bosworth, interracial marriages, children of divorce, powdered wigs, Barnes & Noble, the University of Washington, Barcelona, the Galapagos Islands, Amazon’s Kindle, Steve Kessel, expat talent, Bucky Moore, rideshare insurance, robo-taxis, Elon Musk, and data science.

Chapters:

(00:45) - Biking to work — and across the US
(03:44) - Lyft Bikes
(07:35) - How David became CEO
(12:18) - 14 months later...
(15:28) - Customer obsession
(17:40) - Jeff Bezos
(21:00) - Leaving Microsoft
(24:28) - Drive + empathy
(27:39) - David’s parents
(30:38) - Being straightforward
(36:20) - Loving the Work
(38:42) - Amazon’s early days
(40:49) - Bezos’ farewell easter egg
(43:44) - “What else is out there?”
(48:36) - Ariel Cohen
(49:56) - Living overseas
(53:06) - Starting Worldreader
(58:15) - The lifelong journey
(01:00:40) - Growing profitably
(01:04:09) - Waymo and driverless cars
(01:10:45) - Physical businesses at scale
(01:14:03) - Who Lyft is hiring
(01:15:19) - What “grit” means to David

Links:

Connect with David

Connect with Joubin

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

#200 CEO & Co-Founder Together AI, Vipul Ved Prakash w/ Bucky Moore: Super Cycle Jul 22, 2024

Show notes

Guests: Vipul Ved Prakash, CEO and co-founder of Together AI; and Bucky Moore, partner at Kleiner Perkins

No one knows for sure whether the future of AI will be driven more by research labs and AI-native companies, or by enterprises applying the technology to their own data sets. But one thing is for sure, says Together AI CEO and co-founder Vipul Ved Prakash: It’s going to be a lot bigger. “If you look at the next 10 years or the next 20 years, we are doing maybe 0.1 percent of [the] AI that we’ll be doing 10 years from now.”

In this episode, Vipul, Bucky, and Joubin discuss startup table stakes, Tri Dao, tentpole features, open-source AI, non-financial investors, Meta Llama, deep learning researchers, WeWork, “Attention is All You Need,” create vs. capture, Databricks, Docker, scaling laws, Ilya Sutskever, IRC, and Jordan Ritter and Napster.

Chapters:

(00:53) - Executive hiring
(04:40) - How Vipul and Bucky met
(06:54) - Six years at Apple
(08:19) - Together and the AI landscape
(12:47) - Apple’s deal with OpenAI
(14:27) - Open vs. closed AI
(17:32) - Nvidia GPUs and capital expenditures
(22:48) - Fame and reputation
(24:17) - Planning for an uncertain future
(27:00) - Stress and attention
(30:18) - AI research
(34:58) - Challenges for AI businesses
(39:02) - Frequent disagreements
(43:05) - Vipul’s first startups, Cloudmark and Topsy
(47:55) - Taking time off
(50:09) - The crypto-AI connection
(53:20) - Who Together AI is hiring
(54:37) - What “grit” means to Vipul

Links:

Connect with Vipul

Connect with Bucky

Connect with Joubin

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

#199 CEO & Co-Founder Klaviyo, Andrew Bialecki: High Slope Jul 15, 2024

Show notes

Guest: Andrew Bialecki, CEO of Klaviyo

Whenever the marketing platform Klaviyo is hiring, says CEO Andrew Bialecki, “we sort of don't care so much what skills you have.” Instead, the company looks for “high slope” individuals who are curious and able to continually learn new things. “A big turnoff for me is [when] somebody says, ‘Oh, well, I was never good at that when I was growing up,’” Andrew explains. “You know, ‘I'm not a good writer’ or ‘I'm not good with numbers.’ And it's like, well, OK, but anybody can learn anything.”

In this episode, Andrew and Joubin discuss WeCrashed, Paul Graham, vertical integration, automating sales, Ed Hallen, The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, child prodigies, interview questions, public speaking and decompression, taking ownership, hiring engineers, burnout, and productivity habits.

Chapters:

(00:51) - Klaviyo's office
(02:36) - Attention to detail
(06:32) - Big decisions
(12:23) - What Klaviyo does
(14:50) - Its 2023 IPO
(20:35) - The founding story
(25:06) - Nature or nurture?
(28:47) - Science and hockey
(31:02) - Hiring for slope
(33:57) - Extroversion
(37:00) - Culture as product
(39:53) - Owning your success
(46:24) - “The algorithms of humanity”
(50:55) - Why Andrew runs
(52:35) - Sports psychology for startups
(55:34) - Richard Feynman
(58:27) - Who Klaviyo is hiring
(59:20) - What “grit” means to Andrew

Links:

Connect with Andrew

Connect with Joubin

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

#198 CEO & Co-Founder Wayfair, Niraj Shah: Homeward Jul 08, 2024

Show notes

Guest: Niraj Shah, CEO and co-founder of Wayfair

Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah caught the entrepreneurship bug in his mid-20s, when he and his longtime co-founder Steve Conine sold their first company just a few years out of college. They left the acquirer and independently realized “we absolutely wanted to start something else,” Niraj recalls. “Once you’ve done that, if you enjoy that, it’s very hard to pursue something more traditional.” But the “if you enjoy that” bit really matters: Whenever he’s counseling younger people, Niraj tells them to pursue something they’re genuinely excited about. Otherwise, “it’s going to be very hard for you to do your best work.”

In this episode, Niraj and Joubin discuss shopping malls, employee discounts, working in Boston, family time, Jay Chaudhry, Cornell University, pursuing what you enjoy, fostering trust, family vacations, over-hiring corporate staff, taking market share, the power of ecommerce, ownership mentality, setting priorities, and rapid hiring.

Chapters:

(00:51) - Wayfair’s first retail stores
(05:35) - Buying from other stores
(08:59) - Immigrant entrepreneurship and Niraj’s dad
(12:57) - Building the flywheel
(15:32) - Structuring your calendar
(17:59) - Success and attention
(21:47) - Niraj’s first business
(25:54) - His co-founder, Steve Conine
(29:58) - Wayfair’s operations and the COVID surge
(33:52) - The home goods market
(37:50) - Optimizing SKUs
(41:21) - Specializing, focusing, and problem-solving
(44:42) - Sustainable work ethic
(48:05) - AI and personalization
(52:42) - Who Wayfair is hiring
(53:56) - What “grit” means to Niraj

Links:

Connect with Niraj

Connect with Joubin

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

#197 CEO, Chairman & Founder Zscaler, Jay Chaudhry: No Attachment Jul 01, 2024

Show notes

Guest: Jay Chaudhry, CEO, chairman, and founder of Zscaler

Much of the media coverage of Zscaler CEO Jay Chaudhry is quick to identify him as the wealthiest Indian-American person, with a net worth of $10.8 billion. But to hear Jay himself tell it, that number has never been very important to him: “My family had no money,” he says of his childhood in India. “I had no attachment for money. There was no feeling of ‘I must buy this, buy this.’ ... And it hasn’t changed a bit.” Perhaps surprisingly, he says not caring about money is one of the big reasons for his financial success: With no attachment to money, “I could take risks.”

In this episode, Jay and Joubin discuss startup “gambling,” Jay’s wife Jyoti, scarcity and risk, wasting time, “bonding walks,” family vacations, self-confidence and self-criticism, gardening, seven-minute aerobics, Marc Andreessen and Netscape, and IBM.

Chapters:

(01:54) - Selling SecureIT to Verisign
(06:49) - Jay’s humble beginnings
(09:12) - The worst way to describe him
(11:42) - Working harder than ever
(14:15) - Authenticity and selflessness
(16:36) - Family time
(18:53) - Happy childhood
(21:33) - Setting an example
(24:48) - Customer meetings
(27:30) - Conviction and execution
(31:07) - Do your best
(33:16) - Turning off your brain
(38:23) - Getting experience
(40:17) - Who Zscaler is hiring
(41:12) - What “grit” means to Jay

Links:

Connect with Jay

Connect with Joubin

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

#196 CEO & Co-Founder Braze, Bill Magnuson: Principles of Change Jun 24, 2024

Show notes

Guest: Bill Magnuson, CEO and co-founder of Braze

The deployment of smartphones around the world was more impactful than any other technology to date, says Braze CEO Bill Magnuson — and that has big implications for emerging fields like generative AI. “If we get to the point where they [LLMs] really can be useful, human-like companions ... they will be usable by everyone that has smartphone technology.” In other words, the question is not business opportunity or scale: It’s capability.

In this episode, Bill and Joubin discuss earnings days, Aaron Levie, MIT, customer churn, shower thoughts, technical co-founders, lacking context, AGI, “hands on keyboard,” the T-Mobile G1, app marketing, the 2008 financial crisis, Bob Iger, World War II, Peter Reinhardt, Watershed, and international offices.

Chapters:

(00:51) - Morning people
(05:09) - What Braze does
(06:59) - From CTO to CEO
(08:17) - Waking up and commuting
(10:49) - Leading vs. engineering
(12:35) - Cognizant of believability
(19:52) - LLMs and the human brain
(25:46) - The AI ceiling
(28:43) - The historic deployment of smartphones
(37:58) - The benefits of youth
(40:18) - Taking the leap
(43:35) - Read more sci-fi
(46:38) - Survivor bias
(48:55) - Big risks at scale
(52:30) - Who Braze is hiring around the world
(55:32) - What “grit” means to Bill

Links:

Connect with Bill

Connect with Joubin

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

#195 CEO Salesforce AI, Clara Shih: Above the Clouds Jun 17, 2024

Show notes

Guest: Clara Shih, CEO of Salesforce AI

In 2020, Clara Shih quit Hearsay, the company she founded and ran for 11 years; in hindsight, she says “I probably should have quit a little bit sooner.” But at the time, she cared a lot — too much — about what everyone else thought. “There's a lot of guilt around leaving initially and feeling bad for feeling bad,” Clara says. But her worries subsided when her replacement and former COO, Mike Boese, guided the company with “class and grace” to an exit: A $125 million+ acquisition just this week by Yext.

In this episode, Clara meets Joubin on the top level of Salesforce Tower to discuss Sarah Friar, AI “frenemies,” practice and discipline, quantifying hard work, burnout, turning off, Intercom, elite operators, “Serviceforce,” ChatGPT, hiring for hunger, kids and achivement, Thomas “TK” Kurian, Slack, David Schmeier, Juan Perez, Nvidia GPUs, Silvio Savarese and Frontier AI, Starbucks, and Sheryl Sandberg.

Chapters:

(01:04) - Apple’s OpenAI partnership
(03:18) - Organizing your life
(04:45) - Working smarter
(07:49) - Hindsight
(08:58) - Hearsay’s acquisition by Yext
(11:23) - What everyone else thinks
(14:25) - Productive worry
(17:27) - Coming (back) to Salesforce
(20:47) - Paranoia and immigrant hustle
(25:42) - Quitting
(26:39) - Meetings and infusing AI
(29:38) - Internal time savings
(31:48) - The Matthew McConaughey ads
(33:48) - Different horizons
(37:35) - France and sovereign AI
(38:46) - How Clara uses AI to keep up
(40:33) - Dis-intermediating Netflix
(41:27) - Who Salesforce AI is hiring
(42:05) - Advice from Howard Schultz and Marc Benioff

Links:

Connect with Clara
- Twitter
- LinkedIn
Connect with Joubin
- Twitter
- LinkedIn
- Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected