Imagining Arc by The Browser Company

The Browser Company•arc.net

These are the things many CEOs encounter but few talk about - here you have a seat at the table. At The Browser Company we’re building a new browser, Arc. Every week our CEO Josh, and our team, share real-time updates on what’s working, what’s not, and our biggest questions — especially right now, as we imagine Arc. Send Josh thoughts anytime on [email protected].

Follow on

Episodes

Developing a vision for Arc 2.0

This episode covers a difficult week at The Browser Company involving a security incident and important company moments. Josh then delves into the process of writing the vision document for Arc 2.0, exploring the challenges of balancing a clear future vision with the company's value of embracing uncertainty and integrating lessons from five years of experience. He announces that this is the final episode of the podcast series for now, explaining the shift from talking to focusing on building and shipping the product, while expressing deep gratitude to the team and listeners for their support.

Sep 27, 2024•10 min

Five companies inspiring our work right now

As Josh gears up to head to a founder’s retreat this week, he reflects on the other companies he’s currently inspired by. From media and everyday tools to AI and tech, each company, founder, and team provides a different motivator for Arc and its future. As always, please send your thoughts to [email protected]. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:15 Spending a week offsite 01:08 Finding inspiration from other companies 02:15 1- OpenAI & Anthropic 02:25 Articulating a singular mission 04:18 2 - ...

Sep 19, 2024•14 min

Describing Arc’s value and service

Inspired by a listener email, Josh explores how to talk about Arc not in its technical form, but instead as a unique value and service. He reflects on how brands like Peloton, Uber and Apple have positioned their products beyond their tangible use - and what that can look like for Arc going forward. Chapters: 00:00 - Feeling inspired 00:22 - One thing on Josh’s mind 01:30 - How to explain Arc 2.0 05:30 - Positioning of Peloton, Uber and Apple 08:11 - What is the equivalent explanation of Arc 2.0...

Sep 12, 2024•11 min

Repositioning the entire company towards one goal

In this episode of Imagining Arc, Josh focuses on his responsibility as a CEO to staff and resource a team around one singular goal. He reflects on three key inflection points in the business - switching from Electron to Swift, building Windows on Swift, and nailing a prototype for Arc Search - and how those big decisions throughout Browser Company's history have set us up for building Arc 2.0 today. We love hearing from you at [email protected]. Chapters: 00:00 - How do you staff and res...

Sep 05, 2024•19 min

Three product decisions and one big question

In this week's episode, Josh shares three big product decisions we've made – and asks for your thoughts on our most pressing question: how should we share this journey with the 99% of Arc members who aren’t listening to this podcast? How can we best bring our members along as we work towards getting an early version of Arc 2.0 in your hands? From solidifying our value proposition, to defining our tab management principles, and building a technical architecture focused on performance – things are...

Aug 29, 2024•18 min

Overcoming doubt: Feature explorations and family feedback

Today’s episode of Imagining Arc is about doubt—the doubt that creeps in for CEOs of any company, the moments that counter it, and how it all relates to this exact moment of imagining Arc. As the summer wraps up and he moves back to Brooklyn after moving during Covid, Josh reflects on why we started The Browser Company back in 2019, what has changed over the last five years, and the conviction that remains the same. From the team’s latest experiments with New Tab homepages, to iterations on Arc ...

Aug 21, 2024•13 min

Focusing on the only thing that matters: a leapfrog product

Fresh off the board call, Josh shares a recap of the board's feedback on our current top three questions. From how early to ship Arc 2.0, to weighing familiar interfaces, breaking down false binaries between growth and monetization, and focusing on the only thing that matters—building a leapfrog browser for a better way to use the internet. Touching on the complexities of growth, monetization, and building a product users cannot imagine living without, this episode dives deep into the journey of...

Aug 14, 2024•18 min

Three things we're asking our board this week

In this episode of "Imagining Arc," Josh dives into our upcoming board check-in call and the creative tensions we're currently working through at The Browser Company: when and how to ship Arc 2.0? How do we keep Arc simple but also non-incremental? Should we optimize for growth or monetization? Alongside prep for our board call, Josh shares one thing that's going well, one thing that isn't, and one thought on his mind this week at The Browser Company. (00:00) Intro (1:25) Preparing for our board...

Aug 06, 2024•32 min

In search of Arc’s value proposition

Coming out the noise, the dinner party test, and doing less? Josh shares his biggest question right now: how do we pick the central value proposition for Arc — and shape Arc around that. (0:00) Intro (0:21) Top of mind (1:26) Coming out of the noise (3:09) A letter to myself “Why are we here?” (5:09) Our three current focus areas (7:44) The illusive value prop (11:40) Current value prop explorations (14:11) Optimizing for feelings (15:18) Doing less? (17:50) Closing and email responses Mentioned...

Jul 30, 2024•21 min

Where are all the new features?

What does Arc’s beloved Sidebar have in common with the Apple I? A few things (we hope). Josh explains why we haven’t shipped anything new in a while, and what we mean by taking a Blank Page Approach to our beloved browser this summer. (0:00) Intro (0:10) Where are all the new Arc features? (0:40) Summer is for stability & performance (1:10) Reflecting on a year since Arc 1.0 (1:40) The vision for Arc (2:20) Arc today is too complicated (2:40) Taking a blank page approach (4:00) From the App...

Jul 23, 2024•8 min

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android

Open in Metacast