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With software powering every aspect of our lives, when does quality testing shift from a nicety to an absolute necessity? Despite the stakes, most companies fail to test everything—and even fewer automate their QA processes—leaving critical systems vulnerable to catastrophic bugs. Jon Perl is on a mission to change that. In 2019, he launched QA Wolf to help hundreds of companies automate 80% of their quality assurance processes, accelerating release cycles fivefold and saving customers over $100 million annually. By disrupting the outdated, manual QA status quo, QA Wolf empowers teams to ship faster and more confidently, delivering innovation without compromise. In this episode, Jon shares how a tech mistake sparked the idea for QA Wolf, how they settled on a pricing model that aligns incentives with their customers, and why he believes human-in-the-loop will remain essential until AI achieves flawless accuracy.
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For 60 years, Moore's Law and Dennard scaling drove the exponential advancement of computers, making them faster, smaller, and more energy-efficient. But as Nick Harris explains, the era of transistor-based technology has reached its physical limits. The future of computing demands a new solution, and that solution is light. Nick founded Lightmatter in 2017 to fully transform AI data center infrastructure. By harnessing light to process and transmit data, Lightmatter is laying the foundation for the next generation of computing. The company invented the world's first 3D-stacked photonics engine and was most recently valued at $4.4 billion. In this episode, Nick shares why he chose to leave academia after receiving his PhD, how his go-to-market strategy hinged on building real friendships and understanding his customers' internal roadmaps, and why he believes that having an obsession is a gift.
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What if building a website wasn’t just for developers, but something anyone could do easily? This was the simple idea that led Avishai Abrahami to create Wix in 2006. What began as a no-code tool to help businesses establish an online presence has grown into a global platform that serves hundreds of millions of users. Under Avishai’s leadership, the company has reached many milestones including the launch of Wix’s first AI website builder in 2016—one the first commercial AI products available to consumers at mass scale. In 2013, Avishai took Wix public, and the company is currently valued at over $11 billion. In this episode, Avishai shares his take on what differentiates exceptional entrepreneurs from the rest, why he believes in meticulously tracking the most granular details, and how important it is to master the balance of seeking feedback while knowing when to trust your own judgment.
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What if the media you consume isn’t just how you spend your time—but who you become? Chris Best began his career as a software engineer, driven by the idea that writing code could transform how millions of people work. But after nearly a decade of coding, he recognized an even greater potential with writing: the power to shape who millions of people become. In 2017, Chris launched Substack, a platform that empowers independent writers and creators to own their connection with audiences and earn through paid subscriptions. In this episode, Chris unpacks the “anti-media” philosophy at the heart of Substack—eliminating barriers for writers to share their work and creating a meritocratic space where the most influential voices can be heard. From political commentators and fashion gurus to sports enthusiasts, Substack has grown into a vibrant ecosystem where readers can discover their tribe. Today, the platform boasts over 35 million active readers and more than 4 million paid subscribers. Chris shares how he overcame initial skepticism about product-market fit, why he thinks of Substack as an index for culture, and how authenticity is increasingly vital in a world where AI generated content is limitless.
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Following the clean-tech bust of the early 2010s, the path to renewable energy was anything but clear. Yet in 2013, Chris Hopper took a bold step forward to co-found Aurora Solar, on a mission to accelerate solar energy adoption. Aurora’s platform streamlines and improves the processes of sales, design, and installation—making solar more accessible and efficient for all. Operating in a tough funding environment, he relied on grit to secure a seed round that enabled the company to bootstrap and grow steadily over the next five years. Today, Aurora Solar has raised over half a billion dollars, achieved a valuation exceeding $4 billion, and has empowered the design of over 10 million solar projects worldwide. Chris shares why he’s grateful for the challenging early days, how Aurora's cloud-based platform uses AI to streamline workflows, and why—despite his forward-thinking mindset—he encourages entrepreneurs to remain open to serendipity.
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In 2011, as the rise of digital media cast doubt on the survival of print, Sarah Harrelson broke from convention and launched her own independent magazine: CULTURED. Sarah set out to spotlight artists, writers, curators, and designers overlooked by mainstream outlets and has since become one of the most trusted voices in the world of art and design. Beyond the magazine’s editorial prestige, CULTURED collaborates with leading fashion houses, luxury brands, and galleries. Sarah has had a decades-long career in magazines, beginning with an internship at Elle and including launching the Miami Herald’s Home and Design section, becoming the editor-in-chief of Ocean Drive and Art Basel Magazine, and ultimately founding her own publishing company. In this episode, Sarah shares how intuition shapes her approach to talent discovery, why her belief in the staying power of print remains unchanged, and how the magazine’s strategic focus has evolved to span global markets and adjacent industries.
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In 2013, when Ryan Petersen launched Flexport, he approached the problem from a customer’s perspective. Early in his career, he had worked at his brother’s import-export business, sourcing and selling ATVs, scooters, and dirt bikes from Asia to markets around the world. They built the entire technical platform to facilitate these transactions, and Ryan saw an opportunity to make the freight forwarding industry more efficient. He founded Flexport to make global trade easy and accessible for everyone and has since raised $2.3 billion to fuel the business. Today, Flexport’s platform coordinates logistics from factory floor to customer door, serving companies of all sizes. In 2023 alone, Flexport’s technology moved over $32 billion worth of merchandise. Ryan discusses how he leverages the U.S. Air Force’s OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) strategy, how AI is helping automate 1% of its freight forwarding workflows each week, and why Flexport’s agility remains the company’s greatest strength.
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When Eliot Horowitz, Founder and CEO of Viam, was locked down with his family during COVID, he did what any engineer might do—he built a robot to play chess. Once that project was complete, he turned his attention to his ever-problematic sprinkler system. After that? He added smart software to his HVAC system. Through this series of home improvements, he uncovered a problem he was eager to solve, and his third startup was born. Eliot founded Viam to build a product that connects hardware to software and unlocks AI, automation, and data for the physical world. A career software developer and technology leader, Eliot previously co-founded MongoDB, writing the core code base for the pioneering database and leading the engineering teams for 13 years as CTO. MongoDB went public in 2017 and has a market cap of over $20 billion. Eliot shares why he enforces a no-jerk policy when it comes to hiring, how he evolved as a founder from the seed stage to post-IPO, and why he believes that being the product’s biggest user is essential to success.
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In 2007, Emmett co-founded a live streaming service called Justin.tv along with his childhood friend and neighbor, Justin. That first entrepreneurial spark grew into Twitch, an interactive livestreaming service that spans gaming, entertainment, sports, music, and more. Today, at any given moment, more than 2.5 million people globally are engaging with Twitch. While Twitch was acquired by Amazon in 2014 for nearly $1 billion, Emmett has stayed on as CEO and continued to scale. Emmett shares why the company's hardest engineering challenge was scaling live video, why the future of the creator economy is "micro-patronage," and the role Twitch plays in combating loneliness.
Original airdate: Aug 2022 -
From the time she was a child in East London, Emma Grede knew she wanted to work in fashion. After a long career at the intersection of fashion and entertainment, Emma now sits at the helm of Good American, the fashion label she co-founded with Khloe Kardashian in 2016. The first fully inclusive fashion brand kicked off with the largest denim launch in history, bringing in $1M on day one, and has evolved to include ready-to-wear, swim, shoes and activewear. Emma shares what it was like to experience the roller coaster of launch day, why the ability to understand what customers want is a superpower, and why she thinks in-person retail experiences will be here for decades to come.
Original Air Date 06-02-2021 -
Most startups set out to tackle massive problems, but working to develop a low-cost, long-duration energy storage solution that will enable the electric system to be 100% renewably powered? That's a big one by any standard. At Form Energy, Mateo Jaramillo and his co-founders are working to bring that very vision to life, leveraging the smartest minds in the energy storage space. Mateo shares why he bet his career on the climate tech industry after attending Yale Divinity School, how his time at Tesla taught him the importance of top-quality talent, and what it was like to step into the shoes of a founder at age 40.
Original Air Date: 12-16-2020 -
After a career spent inside a hospital, Brian Whorley envisioned a future for American healthcare that, to him, seemed not just possible but inevitable. Witnessing firsthand the growing number of patients burdened by high deductibles, Brian understood that when people have better financial tools to afford care, they seek treatment sooner, leading to improved health outcomes. In 2018, Brian co-founded Paytient, the company that empowers people to pay for care over time with no interest and no fees—ever. Fast forward seven years, and his vision is becoming a reality. Starting in 2025, every single Part D health plan in the U.S. will be required to offer plan members the option to spread their out-of-pocket pharmaceutical costs over time with interest-free monthly payments. Given this new regulation, Paytient is expected to help nearly 25 million Americans more easily access and afford care next year. Brian shares why he believes founders are forged as children, how he built a business among a sea of skeptics, and why he thinks that healthcare entrepreneurs have to partner with America’s existing health system stakeholders to implement the most impactful change.
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Growing up, Annie Lamont was an avid reader with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. This led her to attend Stanford—which coincided with Silicon Valley's tech boom and ignited her passion for entrepreneurship. Immediately, she found herself gravitating towards healthcare investing because of the incredible impact it can have on communities. Today, Annie is the cofounder of Oak HC/FT and is recognized as one of the most influential investors in healthcare and fintech. With over $5 billion in assets under management, she boasts an impressive track record, having backed iconic companies like One Medical, athenahealth, and Devoted Health. To date, she has successfully exited more than 70 companies and achieved 15 IPOs. In addition to her venture career, she also serves as the First Lady of Connecticut. Annie shares her take on how generative AI will impact healthcare and fintech, why she believes the smartest rule in venture is to never compromise on integrity, and how she distinguishes ordinary entrepreneurs from exceptional ones.
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What if businesses were empowered to consistently attract and hire the best-possible candidates—every single time? In 2012, Daniel Chait set out on a mission to help every company become great at hiring. He launched Greenhouse and scaled the business into the leader in hiring software. Almost a decade later, private equity leader TPG acquired a majority stake in the company in a $500M deal. Daniel shares how leadership’s involvement in hiring sets the tone for the success of a businesses’ recruitment and retention practices, why he believes that magical interview questions are a myth, and how AI is actually making life much harder for both applicants and employers.
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When serial entrepreneur Bill Smith relocated his family across the country to build his third startup, the seedling of an idea for his next startup was born. In 2019, Bill founded Landing, the first membership-based leasing model for flexible living. He has since scaled the business to cities around the country with a network of thousands of apartments. Along the way, he’s amassed $255M in funding and been named Forbes Next Billion Dollar Startup, all while making renting your next apartment as easy as ordering takeout. Prior to Landing, Bill founded, scaled, and exited three companies, including the online grocery delivery marketplace, Shipt, which sold to Target for $550M. Bill shares his advice on navigating negotiations, how he discovered product-market fit by asking customers to pay before his product was even built, and why true partnership is critical for a successful acquisition.
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In 2009, Ethan Brown, Founder & CEO of Beyond Meat, faced a dilemma at a rest stop on I-95. Struggling to find a healthy meal for his young children, he realized he had to make a change. That same year, he launched Beyond Meat, the world’s first plant-based meat company, with a mission to drive a global shift from animal-based to plant-based products. Its flagship product, the Beyond Burger, was crafted to look, cook, and taste just like traditional beef. Since then, the company has expanded its offerings and now sells a variety of plant-based products in over 130,000 locations across 65 countries. Today, Beyond Meat partners with major brands like Panda Express and McDonald’s. Ethan shares his predictions for the evolution of the $1+ trillion dollar global meat industry, how he tackled go-to-market for an entirely new food category, and why he believes truths only get truer as his business grows.
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Edward Norton is widely known as one of the most celebrated actors of our generation. He has starred in over 50 films, has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won the Golden Globe, an Emmy, and an Obie, to name a few. What many people don’t know is he has built a parallel career as a serial entrepreneur. Today, Edward Norton is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at his fourth startup, Zeck, the company transforming board dynamics for thousands of corporate and nonprofit leaders. Previously, he co-founded Stax Engineering (emission capture as a service to shipping companies in California ports), EDO (advanced data science and machine learning for audience measurement in the media and advertising industries), and CrowdRise (a charitable fundraising platform that merged with GoFundMe to create the largest online charity platform in the world). Edward shares why he believes business-building is so similar to making movies, how his family taught him to address challenges that make a difference in his community, and why solving problems with friends is infinitely more rewarding than going solo.
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What does it take to become one of the few self-made billionaires in the US? According to the visionary business leader Jenny Just, it starts with a comfortability with taking risks. After just giving birth to her first child, Jenny took a risk and founded her first business, Peak6, in 1997. Peak6 began as a proprietary options trading firm and has since grown into a multibillion-dollar financial services and technology giant housing the next generation of products and service brands including PEAK6 Capital Management, PEAK6 Strategic Capital, Apex Fintech Solutions, PEAK6 InsurTech, and Zogo. On top of these achievements, Jenny also co-founded Poker Power—a company she launched with her daughter Juliette to teach poker and empower women to master the art of risk-taking. Jenny shares how stock rewards could address the persistent issue of financial literacy in our country, why she believes her repeated failures have led to invaluable lessons throughout her career, and how she continues to motivate herself three decades into her career.
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How does an entrepreneur without a college degree manage to build a rocket company exploring life beyond earth? Just ask Peter Beck, the Founder, CEO and Chief Engineer of Rocket Lab, a Nasdaq-listed leading launch and space systems company. At an early age, Peter’s parents taught him that no ambition was too big. So he began building rockets, steadily increasing in their size and complexity. In 2006, Peter founded Rocket Lab and has since grown the company into a global organization of 1,800 employees, taking the business public in 2021 with a market cap north of $2.3B. Rocket Lab’s capabilities span the space economy and Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the most successful small launch vehicle globally. Peter shares why he focused on credibility and capability in the early days of company building, how constraints ensure Rocket Lab doesn’t outspend its peers, and why he thinks some regulation is needed in the space industry.
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As a freshman at MIT, Alexandr was struck by his classmates' interest in AI. But he realized that despite all that AI technology could solve, there was no solution for managing AI-related data. So, at 19, he dropped out of college and started Scale AI. Scale now helps customers like Pinterest and Toyota accelerate the progress of AI and has grown to a valuation of $3.5B. Alexandr shares how AI is changing software development, why he believes in surrounding yourself with optimistic people, and how he learned to get comfortable with not being able to do everything at once.
Original Air Date 04-7-2021 - Se mer
