What do Airbnb, Stripe, and DoorDash have in common? They were built with support from renowned startup accelerator, Y Combinator. And Garry Tan knows exactly what made them work. In the season finale of Building One, Tomer Cohen sits down with Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, to unpack what really makes a startup succeed, and why the startup journey is more about mindset, resilience, and ruthless honesty than having the “perfect” idea. Garry shares rare insights from his dual perspective: as a f...
Jun 03, 2025•55 min•Season 2Ep. 11
What if your product design didn’t start with form or function, but with price? That’s how IKEA has built one of the most beloved and iconic retail brands in the world. In this episode of Building One, Tomer Cohen sits down with Fredrika Inger, IKEA’s Chief Product and Commercial Officer, to explore how IKEA creates affordable, high-quality products at scale. With more than two decades at IKEA, Fredrika has seen the business from all sides: materials sourcing, supply chain logistics, store exper...
May 20, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 10
How do you revive a tech giant and reshape an entire industry? AMD Chief Technology Officer Mark Papermaster joins Tomer Cohen to share how making bold bets, exiting stagnant markets, and betting on modular chip design led to one of the most remarkable comebacks in tech. They also dig into the ways in which semiconductors are powering the AI era. Mark Papermaster is the longtime CTO of AMD, where he helped lead a dramatic product and innovation strategy that changed the company’s future. Prior t...
May 06, 2025•53 min•Season 2Ep. 9
In this episode of Building One, Tomer Cohen sits down with Rohan Amin, Chief Product Officer at Chase, to discuss the evolving world of financial products and the challenges of delivering seamless, secure experiences. From his background in cybersecurity to his current role in shaping Chase’s product strategy, Rohan shares valuable insights into building products that balance privacy, security, and user-centric design. Tomer and Rohan discuss: Why security and trust are foundational at Chase—an...
Apr 22, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Rebuilding a company is one of the hardest challenges any founder can face. But for Justin McLeod, founder and CEO of Hinge, it was the only way forward. In today’s episode of Building One, Tomer Cohen sits down with Justin to dive into the journey of rebooting Hinge from a Tinder competitor to the fastest-growing dating app in the U.S., focused on helping people build meaningful, long-term relationships. Justin shares the lessons he learned from tearing down Hinge and starting over, emphasizing...
Apr 08, 2025•51 min•Season 2Ep. 7
WHOOP has made a name for themselves as the go-to wearable for those at the top of their game. You may have spotted elite athletes like LeBron James and Michael Phelps wearing the slim, screenless device. So what has made the device so successful? In this week’s episode of Building One, Tomer Cohen sits down with Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of WHOOP, to discuss how focusing on a narrow product vision and owning the entire user experience led to the brand’s success in the saturated fitness tracke...
Mar 25, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In a world where finding information at work is often more of a headache than it should be, Arvind Jain’s innovative solution is transforming the way enterprises manage and access knowledge. In this week’s episode of Building One, Tomer Cohen sits down with Arvind Jain, CEO and founder of Glean, to discuss how the AI-driven platform is reshaping the future of enterprise search. Prior to founding Glean, Arvind was a Distinguished Engineer at Google, where he honed his deep technical expertise and...
Mar 11, 2025•48 min•Season 2Ep. 5
What does it take to build a brand that not only survives but thrives by prioritizing the planet over profit? In this episode of Building One, host Tomer Cohen sits down with Jenna Johnson, the President of Patagonia, to explore how the iconic brand is reshaping the future of business through innovation and sustainability. Together, they unpack how Patagonia anticipates customer needs, drives environmental change, and builds products with purpose—not just for today, but for the planet’s future. ...
Feb 25, 2025•50 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this week’s episode of Building One, Tomer sits down with Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming and Xbox. With decades of experience, Phil is at the helm of one of the largest gaming platforms on the planet, overseeing iconic franchises like Halo, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and Candy Crush. As a lifelong gamer, Phil’s passion for gaming runs deep, allowing him to bring a deeply personal approach to leadership. In this conversation, Phil dives into how Xbox has expanded beyond consoles to create...
Feb 11, 2025•56 min•Season 2Ep. 3
This week on Building One, Tomer talks to Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, about building one of the world’s most impactful educational platforms. From tutoring his cousin in 2004 to reaching over 150 million learners globally, Sal shares his approach to creating a “minimal lovable product” (MLP) that goes beyond functionality to foster trust and connection with users. Sal discusses the concept of mastery learning, both in the way Khan Academy teaches and in the way Khan Academy was built....
Jan 28, 2025•49 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Since 1985, when the first pair of Air Jordan’s were released to the public, the Jordan brand has stood at the intersection of culture, design excellence, and self-expression. Today, Jason Mayden, Chief Design Officer of the Jordan brand at Nike, is ushering in the next era. Jason, who grew up on the South Side of Chicago, started as an intern at Nike and worked his way up to lead the design of iconic shoes for the Jordan brand. In this episode of Building One, Tomer Cohen sits down with Jason t...
Jan 14, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Get ready for a brand new season of Building One. Tune in Jan 14 as we kick things off with Nike’s own Jason Mayden, the Chief Design Officer of the Jordan brand. But that’s hardly all - we’ve got a great lineup of guests for you this season: Sal Khan of Khan Academy, Jenna Johnson of Patagonia, Arvind Jain of Glean, and Will Ahmed of WHOOP are just a few of the new voices we’ll hear from! And if you can’t wait, it’s never been a better time to catch up on great interviews from our past season, ...
Jan 08, 2025•2 min
Last week we welcomed Spotify Co-President and CPO Gustav Söderström to the show to discuss his professional journey and the evolution of Spotify. We’re back this week with a few more questions for Gustav to get to know him better. Follow Gustav Söderström on LinkedIn. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter Building LinkedIn
Jul 16, 2024•10 min
For our Season 1 finale, we’ve got a real treat for you. Spotify has been bringing music to listeners' ears since 2008. Today, they are the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription, offering over 100 million tracks, 6 million podcasts titles, and 350,000 audiobooks. Spotify Co-President, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Product Officer Gustav Söderström joins us today to discuss the evolution of the platform, Spotify’s future, and his own professional journey. Over the course of his ...
Jul 09, 2024•51 min
We’ve talked a lot this season about building various apps, platforms, and software. This week, we’re discussing a different type of product: seeds. Michelin Star chef Dan Barber joins us to talk about his new venture, Row 7 Seed Company, where he’s implementing a seed-to-table approach to optimize produce for flavor while also delivering yield and disease resistance to meet today’s needs. Dan draws upon his experience as the chef behind renowned farm-to-table restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns...
Jun 25, 2024•54 min
Last week we welcomed Cerebral CPO Alex Stried to the show to discuss the benefits of directly connecting with your users. We’re back this week with a few more questions for Alex to get to know her better. Follow Alexandria Stried on LinkedIn. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter Building LinkedIn
Jun 18, 2024•7 min
Technology has an undeniable impact on mental health: not just on mental health issues like anxiety and depression, but also on mental health care and the way we access it. Founded in 2020, Cerebral provides online access to psychiatrists and therapists with the aim of offering affordable, high-quality, long-term mental health care to anyone who might need it. As Chief Product Officer, Alex Stried spends a lot of time focusing on user experience. Drawing from her experience at Cerebral, as well ...
Jun 11, 2024•31 min
We're back this week with Noah Weiss, formerly the CPO of Slack. He's joining Tomer for a rapid fire round of questions. Follow Noah Weiss on LinkedIn. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter Building LinkedIn.
Jun 04, 2024•7 min
Since 2013, Slack has helped teams connect and communicate seamlessly. It stood out early amongst enterprise software - which is often characterized by layered complexity - by bringing the craft and frictionless experience of consumer products into its design. As a B2B product, Slack created a messaging platform with features like channels and huddles that make it easier for businesses to collaborate internally. Slack’s former CPO Noah Weiss helmed this innovation for 8 years. He joins Tomer to ...
May 28, 2024•38 min
We're back this week with Zoom CPO, Smita Hashim. She's joining Tomer for a rapid fire round of questions. Follow Smita Hashim on LinkedIn. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter Building LinkedIn.
May 21, 2024•5 min
When the pandemic began, workplaces quickly needed a way to operate without meeting in person and Zoom stepped up to the challenge. If you haven’t heard of Zoom, it’s the video conferencing software that supports remote workers around the world. Smita Hashim is Zoom’s Chief Product Officer. She’s a tech veteran, who has spent her career building at companies like Google and Microsoft. Smita joins Tomer today to discuss how her team responds to customer needs, the importance of great feedback, an...
May 14, 2024•36 min
We're back this week with Plaid CEO, Zach Perret. He's joining Tomer for a rapid fire round of questions. Follow Zach Perret on LinkedIn. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter Building LinkedIn.
May 07, 2024•7 min
Over the years, technology has transformed banking for everyday people. You can now access your money without ever having to touch a dollar bill. But what powers the apps that have so simplified the banking process? Look no further than Plaid. Plaid securely connects apps like Venmo, CashApp and Robinhood and many others to your financial accounts. Today, Plaid co-founder and CEO Zach Perret joins Tomer for a conversation on the intricacies of designing an app for the financial sector. As a high...
Apr 30, 2024•42 min
Looking for more after last week's episode with Nick Daniel? We're back with four more questions with the Etsy CPO.
Apr 23, 2024•6 min
In 2005, Etsy staked its claim on a unique piece of the e-commerce landscape– arts and crafts. The site has since become the go to place for one of a kind handcrafted goods. Etsy’s approach has focused on building community amongst their sellers and today’s guest is breaking down how they balance those needs with that of their buyers. Nick Daniel is the Chief Product Officer of Etsy. He sits down with Tomer to discuss how the platform differentiated itself from other marketplaces early on, and w...
Apr 16, 2024•42 min
Since 1982, Adobe has been empowering the world of design. The company tools transformed the way graphic designers, editors, and creators do their jobs. Today’s guest, Scott Belsky, allowed these creatives to share their work seamlessly with Behance, the largest portfolio platform in the world. Adobe acquired Behance in 2012 and Scott became their Chief Product Officer a few years later. While at Adobe, he has brought apps we know and love to web and mobile, like Photoshop and Adobe Reader, whil...
Apr 02, 2024•30 min
Last week, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull taught us how he built one of the largest creative companies in the world. We’re getting to know Ed a little better this week with a round of rapid fire questions. Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out Ed’s book Creativity, Inc. And don’t forget to rate the show and check out the Building One newsletter.
Mar 26, 2024•8 min
As one of the biggest names in animation, Pixar has a legendary roster including movies like Toy Story, Up, and Monsters, Inc. Many of their most popular titles would not have been possible without Ed Catmull. Ed is the co-founder of Pixar, and aside from his experience with computer science and computer graphics, his most significant contribution to the company may be fostering a creative company culture that crafted some of our favorite animated characters. He sits down with Tomer in this spec...
Mar 19, 2024•41 min
Looking for more after last week’s conversation with Kim Culmone, Mattel's Head of Design for Dolls? Look no further! We’re back with a rapid fire round of questions with Kim. Follow Kim Culmone and Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out our show page at https://linkedin.com/buildingone
Mar 12, 2024•7 min
Created in 1945, Mattel is one of the biggest toy companies in the world and home to the iconic doll brand, Barbie. The brand continues to shape how kids play and learn with the careful design of their dolls. In this episode of Building One, Tomer sits down with Mattel SVP and Head of Design for Dolls Kim Culmone to talk about how she has led the brand’s most recent reinventions. Kim is a veteran toy designer. She started at Mattel as a textile designer and now approaches her 25th year with the ...
Mar 05, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 3
