Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski led the rise from a profitable business to their peak $50 billion valuation, in which they were burning $150 million a month. In my latest episode, Sebastian shares how he turned Klarna back to profitability and discusses Klarna’s ongoing pursuit of creating a digital financial assistant. He also reflects on their recent boardroom drama with Sequoia and outlines the operating principles and the repaired mistakes that have made Klarna the company it is today. (0...
Jun 28, 2024•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 109
Olivier Pomel built Datadog into a $40B company while burning only $25M in capital. In our conversation, he shares the fundraising lessons, operating principles, and core insights that made this possible. He also discusses the pros and cons of building a tech company in NYC, how early-career professionals should approach learning AI tools, how Datadog is building a trusted relationship with their users around AI features, and much more (00:00) Intro (01:30) Datadog's Early Challenges and Lessons...
Jun 14, 2024•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 108
Steve Kaufer led Tripadvisor to multi-billion dollar success over a 20+ year run as CEO. He discusses getting acquired and spun out from IAC, becoming a public company CEO, and his biggest operating lessons from his decades-long journey. Steve also shares behind-the-scenes of his new venture, Give Freely, and reflects on his entrepreneurial path. (00:00) Intro (01:00) Steve Kaufer's Journey with Tripadvisor (03:18) Handling Negative Reviews and Legal Issues (05:24) Psychology of Reviews and User...
Jun 07, 2024•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 107
Since 2017, Bill Shufelt (CEO, Athletic Brewing) went from hedge fund trader to the CEO of the leading producer of non-alcoholic craft beer. Unlike the typical tech-focused chats, this one centers around a product many have fallen in love with. In the conversation, Bill tells stories of the unscalable but crucial strategies he used to build a brand, push past rejection, and redefine the non-alcoholic beer industry. (00:00) Introduction to Athletic Brewing (00:52) The Early Days and Breakthrough ...
May 31, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 106
In the midst of meme stock craziness, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev shared his most eye-opening insights from running the company that transformed the game for retail investors. He talks about Robinhood’s new Gold Card, his views on crypto, the media side, how artificial intelligence could change finance, and more. (00:00) Intro (03:27) The Origin of the Name 'Robinhood' (08:43) Navigating the GameStop and Meme Stock Saga (10:52) Rebuilding Trust and Brand Impact (19:10) Crisis Communication and Lead...
May 24, 2024•2 hr 47 min•Ep. 105
On the day of the ChatGPT-4o announcement, Sam Altman sat down to share behind-the-scenes details of the launch and offer his predictions for the future of AI. Altman delves into OpenAI's vision, discusses the timeline for achieving AGI, and explores the societal impact of humanoid robots. He also expresses his excitement and concerns about AI personal assistants, highlights the biggest opportunities and risks in the AI landscape today, and much more. (00:00) Intro (00:50) The Personal Impact of...
May 14, 2024•47 min•Ep. 104
After 18 years leading Guidewire (~$10B), Marcus Ryu made the transition from CEO to partner at Battery Ventures. In the episode, Marcus shares his journey of co-founding Guidewire in 2001, steering the company through its IPO in 2012, and building one of the largest vertical software businesses in the world. He shares his insights on how to build a durable company in troubling times, what he looks for in entrepreneurs, the future of vertical software, and much more. (00:00) Intro (01:31) The Ph...
May 10, 2024•2 hr 50 min•Ep. 103
After last week’s announcement that IBM is acquiring HashiCorp for $6.4B, HashiCorp co-founder Armon Dadgar discussed a few behind-the-scenes elements of the acquisition and HashiCorp’s full journey from the early days. Armon shares some of his biggest lessons from the journey, from fundraising to community building and more. (00:00) Intro (01:17) Explaining HashiCorp: Simplifying Cloud Infrastructure for Enterprises (03:24) Navigating the Acquisition: Emotions, Expectations, and the Future with...
May 03, 2024•2 hr 55 min•Ep. 102
Before Andrew Bialecki took Klaviyo public and scaled the company to $6B, he bootstrapped it to over $1M in ARR. In our discussion, Andrew reveals his philosophies around fundraising, finding the best talent, cultivating entrepreneurship inside Klaviyo, scaling culture, and more. (00:00) Intro (01:13) Klaviyo's Bootstrap Beginnings (09:37) The Strategic Pivot to E-commerce and Retail (15:02) Narrow Focus as a Catalyst for Growth (25:48) Building a Culture of Learning and Growth (34:02) The Entre...
Apr 26, 2024•2 hr 53 min•Ep. 101
After 23+ years in venture capital, Jeremy Levine has thrived in many eras, taking risks on now-iconic companies like LinkedIn, Shopify, Yelp, Pinterest, and more. In our discussion, Jeremy shared stories behind these investments and the mindsets he’s developed along the way. We also explored how the VC landscape has evolved over the last 20 years and where the industry may head next. Plus, Jeremy shares insights from his journey into VC, along with foundational advice and principles that anyone...
Apr 19, 2024•3 hr 45 min•Ep. 100
Garrett Langley is the CEO of Flock Safety, a $4B company helping solve 10% of US crimes with AI-powered tech. Garrett offers an in-depth look into Flock Safety’s ambitious vision to eliminate crime in America and all the operating lessons he’s learned along the way, including how to build a strong and motivated team, keep people accountable, and leverage PR for rapid growth. (00:00) Intro (01:03) The Mission to Eliminate Crime with Innovative Tech (01:54) The Genesis of Flock Safety: A Response...
Apr 12, 2024•2 hr 48 min•Ep. 99
In less than 8 years, Sanjit Biswas scaled Samsara from 0 to over $1B ARR. In our latest conversation, Sanjit shares all the lessons he’s learned about running a hyper-growth organization, including all the changes he’s made since growing and selling his first company Meraki to Cisco for $1.2B and going on to scale Samsara to $20B. A great episode for anyone who wants to continuously reinvent themselves within a rapidly changing workplace. (00:00) Intro (01:28) Samsara's Journey: From Startup to...
Apr 05, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 98
One of the most preeminent AI founders, Aravind Srinivas (CEO, Perplexity), believes we could see 100+ AI startups valued over $10B in our future. In the episode, we discuss why Perplexity decided to compete with Google and Aravind shares predictions for the utopian future of artificial intelligence. He also discusses the differences between working at both DeepMind and OpenAI, why personalized knowledge on demand could be a trillion-dollar opportunity and more. (00:00) Intro (01:34) The Evoluti...
Mar 29, 2024•2 hr 38 min•Ep. 97
This week, Tracy Young launched her second startup, TigerEye, from stealth mode. After selling PlanGrid to Autodesk for $875 million and working with YC for a couple of years, Tracy and her husband/co-founder decided to build the software they wished they’d had while building PlanGrid. In our conversation, Tracy unmasks her vision for TigerEye and shares everything she learned as a first time CEO that she’s bringing into her second company. (00:00) Intro (01:39) The Shift in Market Dynamics and ...
Mar 22, 2024•2 hr 36 min•Ep. 96
Zach Weinberg is the Co-Founder and CEO of Curie.Bio, which has raised over $500 million to combine early-stage investing in biotech and drug discovery copiloting. He is also the co-founder of Flatiron Health, which sold to Roche for $1.9B, and Invite Media, which sold to Google when he was 21. In the episode, Zach dives into the current venture market landscape, private company valuation and funding trends, and the art of reshaping company culture. Zach unveils his unique blueprint for intervie...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Tooey Courtemanche has been the CEO of Procore for over two decades, bringing the company from $0 to over $1B ARR and a $11B+ valuation today. In my latest episode, we explore how Tooey built the #1 Construction Management Software company, including his strategies for maintaining a talented team, his mindsets for tough times, lessons from mentors like Satya Nadella, Tooey’s advice for founders, and much more. (00:00) Intro (01:22) Valuation and Investor Relationships: A Founder's Perspective (0...
Mar 08, 2024•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 95
Niraj Shah is the Co-founder and CEO of Wayfair. In this episode, Niraj shares Wayfair’s journey from a collection of 250 sites generating $500 million in revenue to a single, unified brand achieving over $10 billion in online sales of home goods and furniture. He explains the challenges of overseeing a vast e-commerce platform with more than 10,000 employees, managing a complex supply chain with over 7 million products, and maintaining relationships with suppliers. The conversation offers detai...
Feb 23, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 94
In this memorable episode from our podcast archives, we revisit our conversation with Parker Conrad, Co-Founder of Rippling and former CEO of Zenefits. Parker opens up about his entrepreneurial path, detailing everything from fundraising challenges to his departure from Zenefits and the founding of Rippling. We also discuss the dynamics between VCs and founders, including what founders really value from investors, as well as the many entrepreneurial lessons Parker has gained from growing four co...
Feb 16, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Filip Kaliszan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Verkada, one of the fastest-growing private companies out there today. In the episode, Filip discussed many of the first principles decisions he has made in growing Verkada into a $3.5B business that employs over 2000 people. He also dives deep into their 2021 hack, what it was like dealing with that crisis and communicating with all their customers, as well as the many other unconventional lessons he’s learned from rapidly scaling Verkada. (00:00) Int...
Feb 02, 2024•2 hr 58 min•Ep. 93
Mike Volpi is a top AI investor and GP at Index Ventures, where he’s invested in companies such as Confluent, Scale AI, Sonos, and many others. In our discussion, Mike reveals the frameworks he uses for making investment decisions and his predictions on the trajectory of the AI wave. He also shares stories from his early career at Cisco, what made him lean in early into machine learning, how he views his role as a board member, and much more. (00:00) Intro (02:49) The Genesis of AI Investments a...
Jan 26, 2024•2 hr 46 min•Ep. 92
George Kurtz is the CEO of CrowdStrike, a $65B+ public cybersecurity company. In this episode, George reveals the surprising intricacies of paying ransom and discusses how CrowdStrike is dealing with increasing cybercrime in the age of AI. We also talk about CrowdStrike’s early days, including how the company found product market fit and the operating frameworks that brought them to the forefront of cybersecurity today. (0:00) Intro (1:52) The Journey to Founding CrowdStrike (2:38) The Differenc...
Jan 19, 2024•2 hr 37 min•Ep. 91
Eric Vishria and I both got into venture in 2014 and both focus on enterprise software. In episode 90, we discuss Eric’s unique approach to investments and what he looks for in founders and companies. We go back and forth on his model versus mine, as well as Eric's background, having grown up in Memphis and graduating from Stanford at 19 years old before joining LoudCloud, which became Opsware with Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. (0:00) Intro (1:20) The role of venture capitalists (5:52) Chara...
Jan 12, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 90
It’s been a wild year for The Logan Bartlett Show, starting with a rebranding and ending with our 50th episode of the year. We’ve pieced together the top 12 most unforgettable moments from 2023, including our favorite wacky untold stories from tech’s inner circle & the most profound insights of 2023. (0:00) Intro (1:30) Satish and Scott (Partners, Redpoint) roasting Logan for becoming a media personality (2:22) Matthew Prince (CEO, Cloudflare) exposing Cloudflare’s 1st customers: Turkish escorts...
Dec 22, 2023•2 hr 33 min
In the episode, Confluent CEO Jay Kreps dives into Confluent's transformation from a LinkedIn spin-out to a publicly traded company. He discusses the challenges of turning an open-source project into a thriving commercial venture and the bold decision to launch a second product while the first was thriving. Additionally, Jay opens up about his transition into the role of CEO, how he only went to one year of high school, and his unique philosophies about steering startups to success. (0:00) Intro...
Dec 15, 2023•2 hr 51 min•Ep. 89
Nikesh Arora became the CEO of Palo Alto Networks with no cybersecurity domain expertise and has grown the company from $18B to nearly $100B in under 6 years. In the episode, we discuss some of the greatest learnings from revolutionizing Palo Alto Networks into a powerhouse, his celebrated M&A strategy, and stories from his wide-ranging career path. Prior to Palo Alto Networks, Nikesh was Chairman and COO of Softbank, working alongside Masa to make investments. Before that, he spent time scaling...
Dec 08, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 88
Luis von Ahn is the CEO and Co-Founder of Duolingo, the world’s #1 language learning application. In the episode, Luis shares the marketing formula they use to drive rapid user growth, including the backstory of Duolingo’s famous owl mascot that has become a viral internet sensation. Luis also dives into the A/B testing and product gamification experiments that have helped make Duolingo a $9B public company, as well as a handful of valuable lessons from his entrepreneurial journey. (0:00) Intro ...
Dec 01, 2023•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 87
Christian Chabot (Co-Founder, Tableau) dives into the journey from bootstrapping Tableau in the early days to eventually IPOing and selling to Salesforce for $15.7B. Christian shares the biggest operating lessons from scaling Tableau and thoughtful insights for founders, especially those in the business software industry. (0:00) Intro (0:55) Christian’s Early Career and Entrepreneurial Journey (3:14) Finding an opportunity in the market (6:12) Joining SoftBank (7:14) Lessons on venture capital (...
Nov 10, 2023•2 hr 55 min•Ep. 86
Alexandr Wang is a Co-Founder and CEO of Scale AI and one of the youngest self-made billionaires. At 19, he dropped out of college to found Scale AI and has since scaled it into one of the most important companies in the world of artificial intelligence today ($7B). In this episode, Alexandr shares the insights that are driving Scale AI, predictions on the future of AI, and other thoughtful tech and geopolitical takes. (0:00) Intro (1:01) Why data isn't the new oil (2:42) Data is the new code (7...
Nov 03, 2023•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 85
In this episode, Logan sits down with producer Rashad Assir for a deep dive into the journey so far, including all the funny stories, mistakes, and insights from the last 85 episodes of The Logan Bartlett Show. If you’re interested in seeing behind the scenes, or if you’re a creator looking to build something, this episode is for you. We’ll be back to normal programming next week! (0:00) Intro (0:52) How to make a podcast (2:31) The Logan Bartlett Show story (11:07) Different mental milestones (...
Oct 27, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Dev Ittycheria is the president and CEO of MongoDB, his third public company as CEO. In this episode, Dev discusses his take on AI, the importance of hiring, how to build an A-plus culture, and many other leadership lessons from scaling MongoDB to $25B. Overall, a really fun conversation with one of the absolute best operators in tech. (0:00) Intro (0:38) Taking the CEO job at MongoDB (2:34) First things Dev changed at MongoDB (5:53) When unicorns were actually rare (7:50) Overcoming Monetizatio...
Oct 20, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 84
