Minus One

In conversation with Aditya Agarwal, Adam D'Angelo reflects on his early days at Facebook, the founding of Quora, his early conviction in OpenAI, and why he believes the recursive nature of AI is grounded in a first-principles approach.Connect with us here:1. Adam D'Angelo- https://www.linkedin.com/in/dangelo/2. Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/3. South Park Commons – https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/

During his three-decade career in academia, Niall Ferguson has explored the critical inflection points that have shaped the course of history — and the future it continues to inform.In this conversation, hosted by Aditya Agarwal and Jonathan Brebner, he delves into why we may be living through a civilizational minus one, how history leaves subtle traces of what's to come, the rise of AI, and much more.Connect with us here: 1. Niall Ferguson- https://x.com/nfergus2. Aditya Agarwal- https://x.com/adityaag3. Jonathan Brebner- https://x.com/JPBrebner4. South Park Commons- https://x.com/southpkcommons00:00 Trailer00:59 Introduction02:02 Civilizational -105:33 Warfare08:45 Media and history13:05 Tech doesn't want the past17:26 Our awesomeness knows no bounds19:34 Narrativizing your personal history26:55 Big moves framework33:22 Institutions37:15 Artificial general intelligence39:52 Vision for the future45:30 Outro

In this episode of Minus One, Vinod Khosla joins Aditya Agarwal to reflect on his four-decade journey shaping Silicon Valley.They discuss making high-conviction bets, why the team you build becomes the company you build, Khosla's first investment in OpenAI, and why he is convinced that AGI sits among us now.Connect with us here:Vinod Khosla- https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinod-khosla-65387416/Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/South Park Commons – https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/00:00 Trailer00:58 Introduction01:53 Aligned values07:59 The early conviction11:29 Did Silicon Valley lost its edge?14:46 10x better16:21 Top down or bottoms up19:45 What does a great investor look like23:17 What's not going well25:41 AI and a belief system38:23 AGI and the future generation40:46 Reasoning model46:55 Consequences of success49:24 Questions and answers55:57 Outro

In this episode of Minus One, Aditya Agarwal and Jonathan Brebner sit down with Blake Scholl, who went from Groupon product leader to founder & CEO of Boom Supersonic, to discuss his pursuit of reviving supersonic travel. With a vision to make high-speed air travel accessible to millions, Scholl is working to bring back a capability many believed was lost after the Concorde era.They explore the key factors in building a legacy company (hint: it's not funding or technology), Boom's pivotal challenges—and how he continues to push forward, and the “slacker index”. Connect with us here: 1. Blake Scholl- https://x.com/bscholl2. Aditya Agarwal- https://x.com/adityaag3. Jonathan Brebner- https://x.com/JPBrebner4. South Park Commons – https://x.com/southpkcommons00:00 Trailer01:56 Introduction05:46 From Amazon to supersonic flight09:39 Overcoming challenges and fear of failure16:44 The importance of shorter gratification cycles23:35 Storytelling in hard tech25:09 Building a dream team27:42 Lessons learned in progress29:52 Building our own jet engines38:53 Challenging conventional wisdom44:01 Inspiration and legacy45:55 Future plans

While he hardly needs an introduction, few leaders have shaped the future of technology quite like Satya Nadella.He stepped into Microsoft's top job at a catalytic moment—making bold bets on the cloud, embedding AI into the fabric of computing, all while staying true to Microsoft's vision of becoming a “software factory.”In this conversation with Aditya Agarwal and Ruchi Sanghvi, Satya discusses:• his approach to building early at Microsoft and why we all need to continue “refounding” • the future of AI and why critical thinking will remain at a premium• Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI, his vision for quantum, and moreConnect with us here:1. Satya Nadella – https://x.com/satyanadella2. Ruchi Sanghvi – https://x.com/rsanghvi3. Aditya Agarwal – https://x.com/adityaag4. South Park Commons – https://x.com/southpkcommons00:00 Trailer00:57 Introduction02:03 Joining Microsoft06:39 Culture and relevance11:21 Winning and not winning17:37 Making that turnaround happen22:30 Contrarian leadership belief23:35 Investments in startups27:33 Foundation models31:07 Artificial intelligence36:32 The future40:39 Quantum computing44:53 Multiverse45:33 The next generation 50:10 Being competitive52:34 OutroThis episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/

Kirsten Green, founder of Forerunner Ventures and 8-time Midas List investor, sees the next wave of breakout brands emerging at the intersection of shifting consumer behavior, novel business models, and technological inflection points.In this conversation with Ruchi Sanghvi, she unpacks the investment frameworks behind early bets on companies like Warby Parker and Glossier—breaking down structural shifts that fueled their scale. They explore:• AI's role in reshaping consumer distribution and brand-building• the enduring mechanics of advertising and its evolution across platforms• the biggest misconceptions about early-stage consumer investing• what defines the next generation of category-defining brandsConnect with us here:1. Kirsten Green – https://x.com/kirstenagreen2. Ruchi Sanghvi – https://x.com/rsanghvi3. South Park Commons – https://x.com/southpkcommonsThis episode was produced and distributed by our friends at Atomik Growth: https://atomikgrowth.com/00:00 Trailer00:56 Introduction02:25 Humble beginnings05:12 Vague misconceptions07:44 Consumer AI direction11:43 How to win in consumer AI18:32 Where is distribution now22:49 "What caught your attention?"24:45 The problems and the solution27:35 Consumer traction and engagement30:50 Giving venture the finger?34:06 Counterintuitive Traits of Founders37:03 Effective channels and connections39:53 Business of saying no41:49 Agents43:04 Search experience44:09 Education and healthcare economy46:36 Physical personalization48:31 Healthcare and social51:55 Key roles54:51 Outro

From launching Ola as a ride-hailing startup to expanding into EVs, AI, and now a third shot at food delivery, Bhavish Aggarwal has remained in relentless “founder mode.” He dives into the mental models that shaped his journey, how he processes failure, and his vision for India's deep-tech future. Connect with us here: 1. Bhavish Aggarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavishaggarwal/ 2. Aditya Agarwal- https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaagarwal3/ 3. Prateek Mehta- https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-mehta-a571972/ 4. South Park Commons- https://www.linkedin.com/company/southparkcommons/ The production and distribution of this episode were managed by our friends at Atomik Growth. (00:00) Trailer (00:55) Introduction (01:55) The chaos of building Ola (06:36) Rebels start companies (10:21) Leadership and Indian tech (16:48) Rationale instinct (21:30) Intelligence, consciousness, philosophies (25:40) How Krutrim fits in (33:13) Founders struggles (36:33) Indian ethos is still growing (43:13) Impact in business and personal life (47:46) Authentic execution, zero BS (55:33) Outro

Scott Belsky, Adobe's Chief Strategy Officer & EVP of Design & Emerging Products (and previous Co-founder at Behance), joined us in NYC. Find out why Scott believes the intersection of design, technology & business converges on some of the most important problems worth solving today.

Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang shares how he navigated the existential angst of early company building to emerge as a leader in AI infrastructure. He shares insights on the brewing US-China AI race and offers provocative opinions on how the next generation of AI companies will need to compete and win.

Mike Krieger is the Co-founder and former CTO of Instagram and recently joined Anthropic as Chief Product Officer. He joined Aditya to discuss how he's navigated the repeated -1 to 0 phases of his career and how he went from founding one of the biggest social apps of the mobile generation to joining one of the most exciting companies of the AI generation.

Lindsay Kaplan is the Co-founder & Chief Branding Officer at Chief, the world's largest network of senior women executives. She joined us in person at SPC-NYC to share how her experience leading marketing at Casper and other high growth startups led to the creation of Chief from the ground up—and why maximizing leadership impact for women in the 21st century is a worthwhile investment.

Mike Schroepfer is the Co-founder of climate tech fund Gigascale Capital and the former CTO of Facebook. He joined SPC in person to share how he went from leading technology at the world's biggest social network to investing in climate tech—and why he thinks tackling climate change is such a massive business opportunity.

Kevin McCarthy, former Republican Congressman from California and Speaker of the US House of Representatives, shares how he unexpectedly found himself at Minus One after reaching the highest congressional office, what it takes to make a career in politics, and why changing incentives is key to reforming the increasingly toxic US political culture.

Few people have thought as much about finding and cultivating talent than Tyler Cowen. The economist, prolific author, and Co-founder of Emergent Ventures (still one person) joined us to share how he thinks about identifying talented individuals at the earliest stages (like, say, -1) and channeling those people toward impactful work.

SPC founder Ruchi interviewed Jessica Lessin live for the story on how she decided to found a media company in the age of AI, journalism's relationship with tech, and a lot more. Jessica is the founder and CEO of The Information, the publication known for original, in-depth reporting about technology and business. In eight years, Lessin has grown The Information into one of the largest subscription journalism communities in the world, attracting an influential audience of business leaders globally. Lessin has covered Silicon Valley and the technology industry for almost two decades and was previously a reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal.

Serial founder and prolific investor Reid Hoffman shares the winding journey that took him from the PayPal mafia to founding LinkedIn to investing in an AI-native future.

SPC alum and Cognition AI Co-founder Scott Wu shares how he went from gold medal winning competitive programmer to founding an AI lab that automates coding, how to know when it's time to move on from an idea, and what AI agents will be capable of in the near future.

Imbue Co-founder and SPC alum Kanjun Qiu shares her journey from Dropbox to becoming a founder, why she thinks play is a key part of human and AI agency, and how community has played a key role in her journey and perspective on AI.

Duolingo Co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn shares his journey from creating CAPTCHA, founding a multi-billion dollar language learning app, and how his company produced their delightfully unhinged mascot.

How did Mark Zuckerberg turn Facebook into Meta? Why does he think open source is the future of AI? And how has he maintained a Minus One mindset at his founder-led company? SPC Partners (and early Facebook employees) Ruchi Sanghvi and Aditya Agarwal interviewed Mark at SPC-SF to get the candid answers. Listen for a deep dive into how the early Facebook team operated, how Mark has kept his company at the cutting edge of innovation, and why the most important variable of success is the people you build with.

As the former CEO of Goldman Sachs from 2006 to 2018, Lloyd Blankfein was a main character in the most eventful economic period of recent history. Alongside our hosts, he opens up about what it took to steer his ship through choppy waters and how to build a durable culture amidst existential fear. In true Minus One fashion, he also shares his frameworks for how he's thinking about what's next for him after Goldman Sachs.

As a two-time Olympic gold medal winning decathlete, Ashton Eaton is one of the few people who ever held a legitimate claim to the title "most athletic person in the world." After retiring from professional athletics, he joined South Park Commons to navigate his career transition. With the 2024 Olympics kicking off, we were honored to have him join us to talk about what it takes to be the best in the world—and what the best in the world do when it's time to figure out what's next.