In this episode, James Currier and guest Li Jin delve into the passion economy, discussing its social implications and the role of self-promotion. They explore the involvement of Gen Z, investment dynamics, and examine case studies such as Mirror and Maven. The conversation also touches on the evolution of digital transactions, challenges in the passion economy, the impact of remote work, personal branding, and the arrival of Web 3.0. The "Passion Economy" as coined by Li Jin makes it easier for...
May 18, 2021•44 min•Ep. 112
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. This is, ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants’ written by Marc Prensky. Marc Prensky is an American writer and speaker on education. He is best known as the creator of the terms "Digital native" and "digital immigrant" which he will expand on in this famous essay. Read by NFX. Read the full essay here - https://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%2...
May 14, 2021•16 min•Ep. 111
In this episode, Pete Flint and guest Lise Buyer discuss the shift from private to public investments, the rise of mega rounds, and the appeal and risks of SPACs. They explore the impact of the Robin Hood generation on IPOs, the importance of transparency for public listings, and share Google's IPO story. Lise Buyer, known as the IPO whisperer Pete Flint on the NFX Podcast to discuss all things taking a company public via traditional IPOs, Direct Listings, and SPACs. Lise consulted on Trulia’s I...
May 11, 2021•53 min•Ep. 110
In this episode, guest Kristen O'Brien delves into the Maker Dow project and Dye stablecoin, explaining its protocol, collateral assets, and key external actors. Further discussions cover the Die Savings Rate, governance, risk mitigation, and emergency shutdowns. The future of the protocol and Dye stablecoin use cases are also explored. In December 2017, the white paper introducing Maker and the original decentralized Dai Stablecoin System was published. It describes the exact design and feature...
May 10, 2021•33 min•Ep. 109
In this episode, guests Julia and Kevin Hartz join Kristen O'Brien and Pete Flint to discuss the prerequisites of going public, private vs public companies, and market trends. They delve into the world of SPACs, the process of selecting business partners, and the future of venture capital. The Hartz couple also shares insights on transitioning from executive to CEO, and reframing Eventbrite's business model. Julia and Kevin Hartz co-founded Eventbrite, a website that allows users to create, shar...
May 05, 2021•43 min•Ep. 108
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. We’ve recently published a podcast and essay focused on Hamilton Helmer’s 7 Powers book, regarded as a core insight behind the success of companies like Spotify, Netflix, Stripe, and Twilio. For this episode of the Founders’ List, we’ll be sharing notes and personal thoughts on the book titled “Mind the Moat, a 7 Powers Review” by Flo Crivelo, Founder & CEO ...
Apr 30, 2021•25 min•Ep. 107
In this episode, James Currier, Jeff Lawson, and Hamilton Helmer delve into the importance of defensibility, the 7 Powers of strategy, and the role of inventiveness. They discuss network economies using Uber as a case study, examine scale economies, and explore the concept of Counter Positioning. They also discuss the challenges for incumbents adapting to new business models, the power of branding, and cornered resources. The episode ends with insights on process power and developing entrepreneu...
Apr 29, 2021•36 min•Ep. 106
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. "We’re on the precipice of a new era of the web. As infinite distractions compete for our attention, companies are learning to master new tactics to stay relevant in users’ minds and lives. The Hook Model is a way of describing a user’s interactions with a product as they pass through four phases: a trigger to begin using the product, an action to satisfy the tr...
Apr 28, 2021•8 min•Ep. 105
In this episode, Pete Flint, Assaf Wand, and Kristen O'Brien discuss the insurance industry's challenges and innovations. They delve into Wand's learning journey and tactics for idea formation in regulated industries. They also explore Hippo's family-oriented culture, their growth during COVID-19, and the decision to go public via SPAC. The conversation concludes with a look at Hippo's future and their use of data and smart devices to prevent insurance claims. Insurtech is also a space that has ...
Apr 27, 2021•51 min•Ep. 104
In this episode, James Currier, Austen Allred, and Kristen O'Brien discuss the societal pressures of higher education and the American Dream. They explore Lambda School's role in reshaping education, and the importance of aligning school incentives with student success. The trio compares international education systems, particularly Germany's, and the history and future of online education. They delve into the role of community in education, misunderstood aspects of startup success, and future e...
Apr 22, 2021•33 min•Ep. 103
In this episode, Jeff Bezos and Kristen O'Brien discuss Bezos's vision for Amazon, its value creation for stakeholders, and the company's innovation. They also delve into Amazon's safety improvements and benefits, its initiatives in climate action and renewable energy, and the significance of distinctiveness in business. The episode concludes with a discussion on the CEO transition from Bezos to Andy Jassy. This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important le...
Apr 21, 2021•24 min•Ep. 102
In this episode, James Currier converses with Jeff Wilke about Amazon's leadership principles, writing culture, and the role of software architecture. They delve into individuality in leadership, the power of authenticity in communication, and the importance of teaching. They also touch on Jeff's new venture, Rebuild Manufacturing. Jeff Wilke (former CEO, Amazon's Worldwide Consumer Business) sheds light on a counter-intuitive driver behind unusual success: Focus on the inputs, not the outputs. ...
Apr 20, 2021•29 min•Ep. 98
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. Amazon's approach to building sustainable long-term value should be a lesson to all companies - not just Internet companies. When Jeff Bezos took Amazon public 24 years ago, he sent this letter to all Shareholders and is still considered a playbook for building a great company - read by NFX. "1997 was indeed an incredible year. We at Amazon.com are grateful to o...
Apr 20, 2021•11 min•Ep. 101
null This is The Founders’ List – audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. "For a startup, understanding VCs’ mindsets is often as important as understanding the mindsets of your customers. With no capital most Founders will not win, so you’d better learn the language." VCs speak a different language, one that Founders must learn to be able to raise capital. Understand the psychological drivers and use them to evaluate your counterpart...
Apr 15, 2021•13 min•Ep. 100
In this episode, James Currier and Chris Anderson delve into the complexities of regulating social media, discussing the role of likes, extreme content, and the potential impact of nationalization on large companies like Facebook. They also explore the challenges faced by rapidly growing firms like Robinhood and address root algorithmic causes in tech companies. The usual Silicon Valley response to regulation is to offer self-regulation instead — but only tech companies have the skills and speed...
Apr 12, 2021•47 min•Ep. 99
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. This is Valve’s new employee handbook, delivered to every new person working at the iconic gaming company. It is an abbreviated encapsulation of Valve's guiding principles. As Valve continues to grow, they hope that these principles will serve each new person joining the ranks as an employee. Read the full handbook here - https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/a...
Apr 08, 2021•34 min•Ep. 98
This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. The old saying "one bad apple spoils the bunch" holds especially true for company culture. Keeping around any employee who is a bad culture fit can destroy your team's working environment. Below are some of the typical types of people who can hurt your culture: 1. The Jerk 2. The Whiner 3. Credit Taker 4. Charming Do Nothing 5. Loyalty Monger With culture fit, you sh...
Mar 30, 2021•6 min•Ep. 97
In this episode, Kristen O'Brien and Iman Abuzeid explore diversity in the tech industry, discussing its benefits such as profitability, decision-making, and innovation. They delve into building diverse teams, funding for women and people of color, and the approaches notable investors take towards diverse investing. They also discuss implementing a data-driven approach to diversity, concluding with thoughts on diversity in tech and venture capital. This is The Founders' List - audio versions of ...
Mar 30, 2021•28 min•Ep. 96
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. "On Monday, October 21, 2013, I sent this letter to our entire team at Airbnb. I have decided to publish this in the event it is helpful to entrepreneurs building their cultures." In this famous memo from the early days of Aribnb, CEO Brian Chesky stresses the importance of having a succinct company outlook on culture. "Why is culture so important to a business?...
Mar 30, 2021•4 min•Ep. 95
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. Pulled from a Quora post in 2015, Greg Brockman (former CTO at Stripe, now co-founder + CTO at Open AI) answers the question, "What is the engineering interview process like at Stripe?" Greg goes into detail around the frameworks and thinking behind the Stripe technical interviewing process and why they use this formula to build a world-class team at Stripe. Rea...
Mar 30, 2021•5 min•Ep. 94
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. Amazon has and operates by its own set of leadership principles--a set of principles referred to during company decision-making, problem-solving, simple brainstorming, and even hiring. Here are the 14 leadership principles Amazon workers refer to on a daily basis: - Customer Obsession - Ownership - Invent and Simplify - Are Right, A Lot - Learn and Be Curious - ...
Mar 25, 2021•5 min•Ep. 93
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. In 2007, Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop (a former Microsoft executive) was planning radical action to revive the company's fortunes on what they will do to stem the loss of market share, notably in the smartphone market, where despite being the biggest player it has been unable to compete with incomers, notably Google's Android and Apple's iOS. "The first iPhone shipp...
Mar 18, 2021•8 min•Ep. 92
null Gabi Shalel is an amazing games founder - he understands the type of innovation, fast iteration, and quality required to create a successful games company. These things are also very valuable for every founder, every startup. So today, NFX General Partner Gigi Levy-Weiss talks to Gabi about the lessons he's learned from starting, growing, and selling Plarium for $500M that other founders can take and apply to their own startups, including: - Psychology of ultra-fast iterations - People and ...
Mar 17, 2021•50 min•Ep. 91
null This introductory paper was originally published in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, before the project's launch in 2015. It's worth noting that Ethereum, like many community-driven, open-source software projects, has evolved since its initial inception. While several years old, they maintain this paper because it continues to serve as a useful reference and an accurate representation of Ethereum and its vision. From humble beginnings, Ethereum has grown into a well-known a...
Mar 11, 2021•53 min•Ep. 90
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) held its 2020 annual meeting of shareholders as a livestream-only event originating from its headquarters city of Omaha, Nebraska on May 2. This is the report from 2020 sent to all shareholders. This is the letter he sent to all shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. “The company’s sitting on about $150 billion in cash rig...
Mar 09, 2021•32 min•Ep. 89
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. Amazon's Jeff Bezos announced in February that he was stepping down as CEO of the e-commerce giant later this year. Bezos said he would transition to the executive chair of the company's board of directors and will focus on "new products and early initiatives. This is the letter he sent to all employees at Amazon. “Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibilit...
Mar 09, 2021•5 min•Ep. 88
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. Inside the war rooms of companies locked in the battle for market leadership is an atmosphere of voracious competition. The stakes are high because whoever emerges on top can shape the future of an entire industry. It takes this competitive spirit to drive true innovation at scale, and the reality is that it’s often very cutthroat. Pete Flint (General Partner at...
Mar 04, 2021•15 min•Ep. 87
null BJ Fogg is an American behavior scientist who is currently an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University and a New York Times best-selling author. He is the founder and director of the Behavior Design Lab. BJ Fogg and James Currier talk to uncover how startup Founders can create better systems, both within themselves and within their companies and communities, so they can level up what we’re doing and put more good into the world. They cover topics like behavior design in tech and tech compan...
Mar 01, 2021•55 min•Ep. 86
null This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. In the Summer of 2013, DoorDash had a dream of building a real-time local delivery network for local commerce. This episode is the reading of an internal memo by Sequoia Capital Partner Alfred Lin in 2014 focused on the market and business of DoorDash before their Series A partnership. DoorDash launched in Palo Alto, California in 2013. As of January 2020, it ha...
Feb 25, 2021•5 min•Ep. 85
null Carole has been in the business of helping leaders grow for over 35 years. Before she co-founded and became the Head of Programs of Leaders in Tech, she taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) for 17 years, where she served as the Faculty Director of the Interpersonal Dynamics for High Performance Executives Program and Director of the Arbuckle Leadership Fellows program. Carole is well known for teaching the Interpersonal Dynamics course that most call the "Touchy Feely Cl...
Feb 22, 2021•26 min•Ep. 84
