Divot brings you weekly conversations with the people building the future—founders, creators, athletes, and visionaries pushing the limits of business, technology, sports, and entertainment.
We go beyond success stories to explore the real moments that define a journey—the risks, the failures, the breakthroughs, and the lessons that can help you on your path.
Stories of people making their mark, and how you can too.
New episodes every Wednesday.
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Before leading global teams and raising more than $170 million to back exceptional founders, this journey started in a crowded home on the West Side of Detroit filled with Motown, discipline, and faith. In this conversation, she shares how she went from Detroit public schools to Cass Tech and Wharton, then entered Silicon Valley and scaled teams from 14 to more than 1,000 at Google. From global leadership assignments to becoming a first-time CEO, she breaks down the lessons behind leading with c...
Before the cloud powered the modern enterprise, it started with a college dorm, a borrowed garage, and a vision to make work simpler. In this conversation, Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box, shares how he turned a college project into a billion-dollar SaaS company. From building during the early days of the internet to leading through massive technological shifts, Aaron reveals the lessons behind Box’s evolution from a storage startup to a global platform used by 70% of the Fortune 500. He ...
Before Radical Candor reshaped how leaders give feedback, it began with a simple idea, that caring personally and challenging directly can coexist. In this conversation, leadership expert Kim Scott , bestselling author of Radical Candor and Radical Respect , reflects on how honesty, empathy, and courage transform the way we work and lead. She shares the real story behind creating Radical Candor, coaching top CEOs at Dropbox and Qualtrics , and how her experiences at Google and Apple University s...
Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph discusses the early days of Netflix, from its initial "that will never work" idea to its groundbreaking subscription model and disruption of Blockbuster. He emphasizes the importance of customer obsession, embracing failure as "type two fun," and shares his philosophy on achieving work-life balance and defining personal success beyond financial metrics, drawing lessons from his career and the creation of Looker.
The journey from playful ideas to world-changing companies is never simple. Known as the father of the video game industry , the founder of Atari , and Chuck E. Cheese has spent five decades at the intersection of play, technology, and entrepreneurship. In this episode, he shares how fun, innovation, and relentless curiosity shaped Silicon Valley, and why the future of learning depends on making it fun. From pioneering the first home video games and building Atari into a cultural phenomenon, to ...
Work is changing fast, but how do you build cultures and teams that thrive through it? In this episode, Anne Raimondi, COO and Head of Business at Asana, shares lessons from two decades leading fast-growth companies like Zendesk, SurveyMonkey, and TaskRabbit, serving on boards including Gusto and Patreon, and teaching leadership at Stanford GSB. She opens up about growing up as the child of immigrants, why curiosity became her leadership superpower, and how she balances ambition with humility. Y...
In this episode, Neal Harmon, CEO and co-founder of Angel, reveals how he went from a dairy farm in Idaho to building one of the fastest-growing entertainment companies in the world. Angel is behind global hits like Sound of Freedom , The Chosen , and Dry Bar Comedy — all chosen and funded by audiences, not executives. Neal shares the painful story of surviving a Disney lawsuit, why The Chosen split was harder than Disney, and how resilience, faith, and community helped Angel scale against all o...
The journey from startup to global brand is never easy, but it’s the moments of crisis that define true leaders. In this episode, Jeremy Andrus, CEO of Traeger Grills and former CEO of Skullcandy, shares how he transformed two consumer brands into icons. From taking Skullcandy public to reinventing Traeger into the world’s number one wood-pellet grill company, Jeremy reveals the resilience and grit required to lead through chaos, culture shifts, and the toughest year of his career after going pu...
The world is changing fast — and there’s no going back. In this episode, legendary Silicon Valley investor Navin Chaddha (Managing Partner at Mayfield) lays out a powerful prediction: “Every business will become an AI business — no exceptions.” We dive into what that really means for founders, industries, and the future of work. Navin introduces the concept of “ vibe coding ”, where 8 billion people can become builders — simply by describing what they want. He shares why SaaS is dying , how vert...
How do you build an AI company trusted by the world's top enterprises, while surviving political oppression, hacking a country's internet, and rewriting the future of work? In this episode, Waseem Alshikh, co-founder and CTO of Writer, shares his extraordinary story. At 17, he launched his first startup in Syria — only to be imprisoned when the government tried to steal it for one dollar. In retaliation, he shut down the country's internet and fled to Lebanon. From there, he taught himself Engli...
How do you choose the right quest — the kind of mission that truly matters, and can survive in today’s world of regulation, politics, and entrenched incumbents? In this episode, Founders Fund General Partner and Anduril co-founder Trae Stephens shares his philosophy of “Good Quests” — and what entrepreneurs must get right when tackling hard, meaningful problems. We dive deep into how AI will transform defense and national security, why the future of warfare is distributed and AI-driven, and how ...
In this inspiring conversation, we explore how AI will transform the future of business and work, and what it means for us as humans. You’ll hear why AI will soon perform 80% of human jobs, why full AI-first tools will surpass today’s co-pilots, and why most of AI’s impact will happen outside of tech. But this is also a powerful life masterclass. From building billion-dollar startups to raising a family and staying energized at 70, we dive deep into resilience, happiness, and living an internall...
In this episode, Kobie Fuller invites us into his home gym — and into the mindset that’s driven him through elite athletics, startup investing, fatherhood, and personal growth. From sprint workouts to 24-hour fasts, Kobie shares how he uses physical discipline to sharpen mental clarity and lead with purpose. He breaks down two core ideas that changed his life: “It takes what it takes” and neutral thinking — frameworks he learned from late mentor Trevor Moawad to overcome self-doubt, pressure, an...
Most people fail at leadership because they complicate what should be simple. Greg Osborn’s approach is different. After leading in Vietnam, raising a family with old-school work ethic, and building businesses in Silicon Valley as the tech boom took off, he learned that success comes from two things: giving people the right training and keeping them motivated. In this conversation, Greg breaks down why teams succeed or fail based on this simple principle — and how you can apply it in business, f...
America used to lead the world in innovation. Now, it's falling behind — and no one in power wants to face the truth. In Part 2 of this eye-opening conversation, we dive into how the U.S. lost its edge in science, technology, and defense. From bloated bureaucracies to outdated mindsets, the systems that once fueled American greatness are now holding it back. You'll hear war stories from the frontlines of government innovation, uncover the forgotten WWII playbook that built modern America, and le...
Most founders follow advice that sets them up to fail.In this episode of Divot , we sit down with one of the most influential minds in startup history — Steve Blank . Before reshaping modern entrepreneurship, Steve co-founded E.piphany , a CRM company that went public in 1999 and soared to an $8 billion valuation. After multiple startups and hard-won lessons, he created the startup playbook that changed how companies are built — from customer discovery to the Lean Startup . Steve’s teachings are...
Liz Wiseman is one of the world’s leading voices on leadership and talent development. A Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Multipliers and Impact Players, Liz’s work has helped shape leaders at Apple, Google, Meta, and beyond. In this episode, she shares how growing up in Silicon Valley, facing early life challenges, and leading major teams taught her the power of multiplying — not diminishing — the people around you. Learn why most managers accidentally hold teams back, how to create r...
His family lost their home, memories, and peace — in minutes. What came next would define his legacy. Rich Raddon, co-founder and co-CEO of ZEFR, opens up about losing everything in a wildfire — and what it taught him about rebuilding, resilience, and leading with heart. From sleeping in his office to supporting a 200-person team while navigating grief, Rich shares how tragedy transformed his leadership — and how ZEFR became a category leader in brand safety, working with billions of impressions...
What does it take to create $100B+ in value while staying grounded, humble, and deeply human? In this episode of Divot, Derek sits down with one of Silicon Valley’s most respected VCs — a former founder turned long-term investor who’s helped build companies like Lyft, HashiCorp, and Poshmark , with more than 45 IPOs and acquisitions and over 40,000 jobs created across his portfolio. As Managing Partner of Mayfield Fund , Navin Chaddha shares his journey from IIT Delhi to Stanford , from founding...
What if the biggest problem in the NBA today was also the key to unlocking its future? In this episode, we sit down with Kirk Goldsberry — bestselling author of SprawlBall and Hoop Atlas, current University professor, former NBA strategist and ESPN analyst — to talk about how spatial analytics , Steph Curry , and the three-point revolution changed the game forever. And why it might be time to change it again. From his early days mapping court data to working with the Spurs , MIT , and Harvard , ...
How do you go from sneakers to $4B in sales, revolutionize collectibles, and invent a new market for toys? In this episode, Josh Luber, co-founder of StockX and the creator of Ghosts, breaks down his game-changing journey in the hype economy. From building StockX — the $4B sneaker resale platform — to launching Ghosts, his innovative collectible toy brand, Josh reveals his secrets to turning scarcity, storytelling, and data into something people are obsessed with . We dive deep into the science ...
How does a creative entrepreneur go from selling beanies to becoming the "Branding Whisperer" behind some of the most culturally iconic brands of our time? Shaun Neff is the legendary brand builder and founder of Neff Headwear, and the force behind Moon, Pattern, Base, and Sun Bum. He’s partnered with stars like Kendall Jenner, Millie Bobby Brown, and Snoop Dogg — and he's also co-owner of the X Games and LAFC. In this inspiring conversation, Shaun breaks down the mindset, strategy, and raw stor...
How does someone go from washing cars and selling rugs to investing in billion-dollar startups like Dropbox and DoorDash? Pejman Nozad arrived in America with $700, no English, and zero connections, but today, he’s one of the most influential investors in Silicon Valley. In this episode, Pejman shares his extraordinary journey from immigrant to Forbes’ #1 seed investor, revealing the networking secrets, mindset shifts, and high-stakes risks that changed his life. He breaks down how he built rela...
Justin Kan built Twitch, sold it for nearly $1 billion, and still felt unfulfilled. In this episode, he shares the truth about money, success, and happiness—and how to break free from the endless chase for more. Who is Justin Kan? Justin Kan is a tech entrepreneur, investor, and former Y Combinator partner, best known as the co-founder of Twitch, which Amazon acquired for $970 million in 2014. Before that, he launched Justin.tv, one of the first live-streaming platforms, which later pivoted into...
Doug Leone believes that the toughest challenges create the strongest people . From immigrating to the U.S. at age 11 and struggling through his teenage years to becoming the global leader of Sequoia Capital , Doug’s journey is filled with hard-earned lessons on resilience, success, and leadership . Who is Doug Leone? Doug Leone is a billionaire venture capitalist and former Global Managing Partner at Sequoia Capital . He joined Sequoia in 1988 and became a managing partner in 1996, later taking...
