Podcasts about startup sales

In this short segment of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John McMahon, John Kaplan and Sunil Dhaliwal, founder and general partner at Amplify Partners, explore the board's perspective on sales leadership. Sunil shares critical insights on selling in the early stages of a startup, knowing when to walk away from a deal, and the importance of transparency in sales forecasting. The conversation dives into the competencies that separate exceptional sales leaders from the rest—honesty, market assessment, and adaptability. If you're leading sales at a high-growth company or thinking about joining a startup, this episode is packed with must-know strategies.KEY TAKEAWAYS[00:00:47] The Pressure of Startup Sales – Why every deal feels like life or death[00:01:27] The "Man on an Island" Feeling – The loneliness of sales leadership in startups[00:02:29] The Risk of Overpromising – How inaccurate forecasts hurt the whole company[00:03:16] The Cost of Poor Sales Leadership – When inaccurate reporting sets a company back quarters[00:04:09] The Most Critical Competency – Why great sales leaders must accurately assess the battlefield[00:05:38] Market Awareness & Adaptability – Understanding product fit vs. chasing deals[00:06:02] The Power of Asking the Right Questions – Why startups need more than just "closing" skills[00:08:00] Honest Forecasting – How sales leaders should communicate realistic expectationsQUOTES[00:00:47] "A lot of people have a hard time backing away from a deal, but sometimes the right move is to walk away."[00:01:27] "Good sales leaders in startups embrace that lonely moment and are honest about what's going on."[00:03:16] "The worst thing you can do is overpromise. You're not just hurting yourself—you're setting the company back quarters."[00:04:09] "Great sales leaders must be able to accurately orient themselves on the battlefield and communicate what's happening."[00:05:01] "At a startup, the product won't work the way you want it to. It's not us vs. them—it's about understanding what the product can and should do."[00:06:36] "Startup sales isn't just about closing—it's about figuring out whether you should even be in this deal at all."Listen to the full conversation through the link below.https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/a-board-members-perspective-on-sales-leadership-with-sunildhaliwalEnjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox:https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0Check out John McMahon's book here:Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4Check out Force Management's Ascender platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/Force Management is hiring for a Sales Director. Apply here: https://hubs.li/Q02Zb8WG0Read Force Management's eBook: https://www.forcemanagement.com/roi-of-sales-messaging

In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by Sunil Dhaliwal, a seasoned venture capitalist and founding partner of Amplify Partners. The discussion dives deep into the challenges and skills required for startup sales leaders, emphasizing the importance of accuracy, adaptability, and honest communication. They explore the different growth stages of a company and how the role of a sales leader evolves with them. They also touch on recruiting, retaining talent, and preparing for board presentations. Dhaliwal shares his journey from Battery Ventures to founding Amplify Partners and provides insights into emerging trends and the impact of AI on various industries.ADDITIONAL RESOURCESConnect and learn more about Sunil Dhaliwal.https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunildhaliwal/Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0Check out John McMahon's book, The Qualified Sales Leader: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064/HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT[00:01:52] The Challenges of Startup Sales Leadership[00:02:49] The Importance of Accuracy in Sales Leadership[00:04:03] Finding the Right Sales Leader for Startups[00:05:47] Navigating the Maze of Early-Stage Sales[00:08:23] Communicating with the Board: Honesty and Accuracy[00:11:29] Key Competencies for Startup Sales Leaders[00:19:14] Presenting to the Board: Best Practices[00:24:26] Establishing an Effective Operating Rhythm[00:30:43] Seeking Advice from Experienced Leaders[00:31:36] Key Metrics for Young Companies[00:32:07] Importance of New Logo Growth[00:33:58] Retention and Sales Productivity[00:34:32] Challenges in Scaling Sales Teams[00:42:51] Stages of Company Growth[00:46:32] The Role of a CRO[00:50:27] Energy Management in Leadership[00:56:33] Founding Amplify Partners[01:00:03] Identifying Emerging Trends[01:02:52] The Future of AI in BusinessHIGHLIGHT QUOTES[00:03:19] "Their job is accurately conveying what's happening out there. Where are we good? Where are we bad?"[00:12:03] "At different stage companies, if the product's not working, I can complain about it in a startup company. The product is not going to work the way everybody wants it to work."[00:13:32] "Early stage companies, the mission for a CRO is more about discovery and asking questions rather than simply closing deals."[00:17:39] "Your biggest problem is somewhere between your CEO and founder, your board, there is stuff that they believe that isn't true."

Which roles should early-stage companies hire and in what order? Lots of opinions out there, with Cory and Sam having theirs. They debate the topic in this engaging and informational episode. 

Sendoso's early success didn't come from chance. It resulted from solving a real, overlooked pain point in the market. By blending founder-led outbound sales with a sharp understanding of buyer challenges, Co-founder Kris Rudeegraap and his team secured their first customers and laid the groundwork for scaling. Highlights include: Startup Sales and Marketing Strategies (12:46), Pricing Strategies and Early Customers (29:04), And more… Are you looking to create repeatable, scalable, and predictable revenue? We can help! ► https://predictable.fm/get-growth

In our latest episode, Peter Beaudoin sits down with experienced entrepreneur and sales expert Craig Elias, who shares his insights on building effective sales capabilities for startups in the Alberta ecosystem. Craig emphasizes the importance of proactive, outbound sales efforts - not just relying on marketing. He advises startups to focus on the lean canvas model to clearly define their problem, competition, ideal customers, and unique value. Thank you for listening to the Leaders, Innovators and Big Ideas podcast, supported by Rainforest Alberta. The podcast that highlights those people who are contributing to and/or supporting the innovation ecosystem in Alberta. Host: Peter Beaudoin Peter manages strategy and partnerships for an innovative alliance of energy companies committed to reducing environmental impacts through collaborative R&D efforts. Peter worked for more than 20 years in Asia building and investing in a variety of businesses. His most recent role outside of Canada was with the World Wildlife Fund, where he was the Chief Executive Officer of WWF China, based in Beijing. Prior to that, Peter lived in Hong Kong for 15 years working in the technology industry. Guest: Craig Elias is LinkedIn user number 3,956 of over a billion users and he has 10,000+ unsolicited endorsements - with over 1,000 of them for his favourite sales topic, lead generation. In both 2018 and 2019, Craig was chosen by LinkedIn as Canada's #1 B2B Sales Expert (#15 globally). Craig's first startup went from initial launch to being funded by a Tier 1 US-based Venture Capitalist and was twice named by Dow Jones as one of the 50 most promising companies in North America in less than 24 months after launching. He is a Startup Mentor for the Alchemist Accelerator in San Francisco, on an advisory board for South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, a mentor for Techstars in Toronto and has been a National Growth Advisor for Goldman Sachs' and Babson College's 10,000 Small Business Program in Boston. Craig is the recipient of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics Gold Award of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and, for the last nine years, has been the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Bow Valley College in downtown Calgary, where he runs Calgary's Innovation Rodeo and spearheads initiatives like 150 Startups, MVP Mondays, Tech Sales Tuesdays, and Founder Fridays to help people from all walks of life become first-time entrepreneurs. He has an Executive MBA from the University of Calgary, specializing in New Venture Creation and Technology Commercialization and a cross-disciplinary BA from the University of Western Ontario. Please be sure to share this episode with everyone you know. If you are interested in being either a host, a guest, or a sponsor of the show, please reach out. We are published in Google Podcasts and the iTunes store for Apple Podcasts We would be grateful if you could give us a rating as it helps spread the word about the show. Show Links: Lean Canvas Model 150 Startups  Show Quotes: "so I'm one of those hardcore sales guys. I'm like outbound, pick up the phone, call somebody, go get customers." "I think if you start getting traction, once you get past 10 customers, you've now got some data." Credits... This Episode Sponsored By: New Idea Machine Episode Music: Tony Del Degan Creator & Producer: Al Del Degan  

Join host Ben Brady in today's episode of Rethink Real Estate, where he sits down with the newest member of the Harcourts Auctions team, Matt Blethen. Coming from a robust background in startup and tech sales, Matt recently made a dynamic shift into the real estate industry, joining Harcourts Auctions as an Auction Associate. In this discussion, Matt shares his unique insights into the transition from tech sales to real estate, focusing on how the skills he developed in his previous role apply to real estate auctions. He talks about his reasons for joining the auction team, the learning curve associated with understanding the real estate market, and how the auction process not only benefits clients but also provides a powerful tool for agents to enhance their own brands.

Dave is joined by Christopher Rack, CEO of pharosIQ. Chris is a seasoned leader with a track record of driving remarkable growth. With experience spanning individual contributions to executive leadership, he's led four sales organizations to achieve 10x growth in just 2-3 years. His leadership ethos prioritizes building robust processes and fostering winning cultures rooted in a human-first approach.They discussWhy alignment between marketing and sales is critical for ABM successHow to prove the ROI of our ABM effortsExecuting ABM with minimal resourcesPlus, they take burning questions live from hundreds of B2B marketers and answer them for you.Timestamps(00:00) - - Audience Interaction and Topic Relevance (06:29) - - The Unpredictability of ABM Revenue (09:57) - - The Nature of ABM: Strategy over Product (11:26) - - ABM Misconceptions: Display Advertising vs. Targeting (16:44) - - The Importance of Identifying the Right Target Account List (20:57) - - One-to-One and One-to-Few Strategy (22:47) - - Automation Tools and Direct Outreach for Revenue Generation (27:54) - - Balancing ROI Expectations in Marketing Strategy (33:20) - - Critical Questions for Evaluating Intent Data and Proving ABM Success (37:13) - - Transitioning to ABM as Startup Sales and Marketing Teams Grow (38:26) - - Aligning Sales and Marketing Efforts (43:51) - - Re-engaging Churned Customers with Product Updates and Honest Feedback (44:48) - - Effective Strategies for Re-engaging Churned Customers (48:02) - - Evaluating Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Success" Send guest pitches and ideas to hi@exitfive.comJoin the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterCheck out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership***Today's episode is brought to you by PharosIQ. In 2024, you face tougher pipeline challenges than ever: reduced budgets, tighter resources, and fewer active buyers. Yet your growth goals remain unchanged.  PharosIQ leverages down-funnel intent signals along with targeted demand solutions to help you build your pipeline efficiently. They help B2B marketing leaders reach their ideal buyers and generate leads that actually convert for businesses of all sizes.  Generating leads is easy; generating leads that convert is what separates PharosIQ from the competition. Check them out at PharosIQ.com/exitfive; book a meeting with their team …PLUS, their team is giving away memberships to Exit Five so go check out their website that's P-H-A-R-O-S-I-Q dot com slash exitfive one word right now. ***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

In this episode of Tech Sales Insights, Randy Seidl and Peter Bell, General Partner and Chairman of Amity Ventures, dive into the realm of sales and startups. From Peter's extensive experience as both a sales leader and a venture capitalist, they explore best practices, pitfalls, and strategies for achieving success in sales-driven organizations.KEY TAKEAWAYSFounder-Led Sales: Understand the pivotal role founders play in early sales efforts and the importance of authenticity in customer interactions.Product-Market Fit: Delve into the challenges of finding and validating product-market fit, crucial for sustainable growth and investor confidence.Scaling Sales Teams: Navigate the delicate balance between founder-led sales and hiring experienced sales managers to drive team growth and efficiency.Remote Work Dynamics: Explore the evolving landscape of remote work and its impact on sales team dynamics, collaboration, and productivity.Customer-Centricity: Emphasize the significance of customer relationships and the role they play in product development, sales strategy, and business success.QUOTES"If the founder can't sell the product, it's extremely difficult for anyone else to sell it because the founder has the authenticity that really only the founder can have in an early-stage company.""Finding product-market fit is extremely difficult. Sometimes you don't actually know when you've found it. Many companies feel they've found it before they've actually really found it.""It's not just about making quota and delighting customers; it's about enjoying the journey together."Find out more about Peter Bell through the links below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwbell/This episode is sponsored by Phone Ready Leads, the Audience Activation sponsor of the Sales Community. Sales teams using Phone Ready Leads average a 21.3% dial to connect rate with key decision makers (A live conversation every ~5 dials), and average ~10 conversations with key decision makers for every 50 outbound dials they make. Visit their website at: https://phonereadyleads.com/

Startup sales—the phrase alone is enough to stress a founder out. We're bringing in two experts who will help unlock the secret to sales success. Join us in today's conversation with Aaron McReynolds and Ryan Harris, co-founders of Alysio, and investor Kat Kennedy of Kickstart (a VC firm for startups in Utah, Colorado, and the Mountain West) as we bring you both sides of a perfect pitch. In this episode, we'll talk about: How Alysio nailed down big customers early on in their startup journey and their advice to founders struggling with customer acquisition The components that make a good sales organization Common blind spots that trip up sales teams Why Kat is so excited about Alysio's financial model and how entrepreneurs can improve their company's model  

In this discussion, Michael Regnier, founder of Sales Design & Delivery, shares vital insights into sales strategy tailored for startup founders, particularly those with a technical background. He explains that a company's sales strategy must encompass every aspect of the go-to-market message, including the target audience and the route to reach them. Smith articulates the importance of defining value propositions, pricing, and delivery models while underlining the necessity of iteration. He emphasizes the need to think from the customer's perspective and pitches the idea of 'if I were you selling'. Smith discusses adopting a sales strategy that proves one's belief in their product, building credibility for the customers. He also covers key points like avoiding paralysis and the significance of designing and delivering the sales process in a controlled manner for effective market feedback. Mike Regnier has been an executive sales manager for small companies for twenty-five years and has helped many entrepreneurs "crack the code" in unlocking their rapid and sustained growth. As a result of his successful exits, he was encouraged by several Private Equity and VC groups to create Sales Design & Delivery, his sales-scaling consulting firm, in 2012 and has been helping small companies achieve their potential ever since.

Captain Hoff interviews Adam Springer on how to get those first 30 sales that every startup needs. How do you sell into large organizations? What's the key to closing? How can you avoid common mistakes that founders make when selling their products?

In the ever-evolving world of sales, understanding the nuances of startup dynamics is crucial for success. In this episode of the Predictable Revenue Podcast, Collin Stewart delves into the unique experiences and challenges faced by Blake Nolan, the first account executive at Seamless AI.  Blake Nolan's story is not just about sales; it's a narrative of adaptability, learning, and growth in the fast-paced SaaS industry. His insights provide valuable lessons for anyone looking to understand the complexities of startup sales environments. Highlights include: What's Like Being the First Sales Hire at a Start-Up? (01:00), "Huh, I Need to be Better" (05:50), Being the First AE and Training the Second Sales Hire (11:36), How to Help New Reps to Face the Sales World (14:47), And more... Are you looking to create repeatable, scalable, and predictable revenue? We can help! ► https://bit.ly/predictablerevenuecoaching

After focusing on scalability and profitability Ben Schmidt's Pittsburg-based Roadbotics, which provides image analysis of road infrastructure, was acquired by Michelin in 2022.

On episode #179 of Kickoff Sessions we sat down with Javier Ramírez Lugo, Founder of Cuota, a B2B sales consultancy that has helped over 50 venture-backed startups increase revenue by optimizing sales.In this episode, Javier takes us through WeWork's rise in 2010 and delves into the pivotal moments and challenges the company faced. As a top-performing sales leader, Javier unravels key sales strategies, from understanding your ideal customer to leveraging the untapped power of LinkedIn for business growth. Dive deeper into the intricacies of market segmentation, and learn how to navigate the complex world of sales cycles, recognizing red flags and handling objections. As we wrap up, Javier also sheds light on when and how founders should consider scaling up and making wise hiring decisions.If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider leaving a 5-star rating on Spotify and a review on Apple Podcasts.Javier's Socials: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-ramirez-lugo/My Socials:- Instagram: https://bit.ly/3LFbEgE- LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3FCS3JA- Twitter: https://bit.ly/3ExJ26Z⏺️ Voics: https://www.voics.co/

Join Matt DeCoursey and Adam Springer, owner of Startup Sales, as they talk about how to dominate B2B sales. In this engaging conversation, gain insights from two accomplished sales professionals on why founders must excel in sales for their businesses to thrive. Tune in to discover strategies for consistently filling your sales funnel, the art of asking the right questions, and common pitfalls to avoid during prospecting.   Find Startup Hustle Everywhere: https://gigb.co/l/YEh5   This episode is sponsored by Full Scale: https://fullscale.io   Learn more about Startup Sales: https://startupsales.io  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

(0:00) Intro(1:20) The Qualified Sales Leader(9:57) Sales basics in building an efficient and scalable sales org(16:53) Carlo Carelli - Greatest Salesperson in the World(20:55) Product market fit(26:07) The medic qualification process(36:35) Difference between a champion and a coach(42:51) Best interview questions when hiring(53:49) The hardest part of transitioning to sales management(1:03:06) On firing(1:10:06) The process of letting someone go(1:11:30) Accidental sales leader(1:17:25) John McMahon as a sales rep early on(1:21:24) Blade Logic and Opsware(1:26:37) The most common misconception about sales Mixed and edited: Justin HrabovskyProduced: Rashad AssirExecutive Producer: Josh MachizMusic: Griff Lawson 

Today's guest is they/her pronouns. Kelly Schuur, the startup sales expert and Co-Founder of Kanda Group, is revolutionizing the way we approach sales enablement. With her wealth of knowledge and experience, she teaches innovative techniques for maximizing your startup growth and shares the secrets she's learned throughout her career.. Kelly has worked for Google, Intercom, Box and has been in multiple sales roles that have shaped her knowledge on how to effectively lead sales teams.In this episode, Kelly shares how to maximize startup growth by implementing a repeatable sales motion for increased efficiency, shape an all-inclusive workplace by delving into company leadership diversity research, harness the power of emotional intelligence for thorough sales leadership development, nourish team motivation by creating psychologically secure work environments, and more.Resources: 360Learning

Looking to improve your sales? Look no further than the latest episode of Beyond the Story with your host Sebastian Rusk! In this episode, Sebastian is joined by sales expert Michelle Terpstra, who has helped over 500 businesses increase their sales since the beginning of the pandemic. Michelle started her own company based on her desire to have an impact and find happiness in her work. In this episode, she shares with Sebastian how her sales program works and how it can help businesses hit six figures in sales. Michelle also talks about her Startup Sales Leadership Academy, which prepares businesses for success by building a sales team. Listen in as Sebastian and Michelle discuss the importance of prospecting, the difference between salaried and commission-based sales positions, and the benefits of taking on challenges to achieve success. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in scaling their business and maximizing their sales potential! Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review.Timestamps[00:00:05] Interview with Sales Expert Michelle Terpstra[00:03:23] Starting and Growing a Virtual Sales Training Company[00:06:22] Building and Scaling Sales Teams[00:09:41] Startup Sales Leadership Academy: Building a Strong Sales Team[00:12:39] The Importance of a Dedicated Salesperson[00:16:02] Prospecting and Sales Compensation[00:19:27] The Rewards of Hard Work in Sales[00:22:20] Overcoming Sales LimitationsBest Quotes[00:01:50] I don't think there's anybody else out there that likes sales more than me, and I'm proud to wear that badge.[00:07:18] We had a 500,000 dollar launch on a thousand-dollar product. And that was the creation of the startup sales leadership academy.[00:09:04] My secret sauce is a branded sales university. Nobody else in the industry does this, and it is like creating a digital course for your sales team so that you can onboard at scale.[00:16:15] Prospecting is a sales professional's responsibility, and that is a 1-to-1 connection point.Episode LinksConnect with Sebastian Rusk:Beyond The Story PodcastInstagramFacebookConnect with Michelle TerpstraLinkedInCall to ActionIf you enjoyed this podcast and want to support us, please subscribe on the platform you listen to podcasts from, leave a review and share with your friends. We'd greatly appreciate it!

If you are a solopreneur, startup leader or founder who needs to build out a high converting sales process, or if you simply want to improve your existing sales process, this episode is for you.  Today's guest is Belal Batrawy, a seven time startup seller who's typically joined as one of the first, if not the first, sales hire. I met him through the Salesforce Top Sales Influencer program and immediately recognized how amazing he is. He's also been hugely recognized and awarded by LinkedIn, Crunchbase, Salesloft, and a lot of other organizations as a top sales leader to follow. Belal is all about no fluff, so this episode is full of tactical tips you can use today to grow your sales!   Show Notes: [2:24] - Belal explains how he began working with startups and how he discovered this passion. [4:58] - With startups, there's more to do than time to do it and more questions than answers. It's easier to know what not to do. [5:48] - Small is better even when you are feeling the fear of missing out. [8:01] - There are ways people set themselves up for failure when it comes to startups. [9:05] - The best thing that can happen is a quick failure. Belal recommends building fast to fail fast so you can use your time wisely. [11:09] - The fear of failure holds us up in a lot of ways, but it's a success to fail quickly and change for success. [14:11] - How do you sell a vision for something that isn't built yet? [16:08] - Emotionally charged messaging is key. [17:50] - Everybody focuses on the messaging but the messaging means nothing if you don't have the right audience. [19:58] - If you are giving someone something of value, then they will expect to pay what it is valued as. They become skeptical if it is priced too low. [21:17] - Belal has always surrounded himself with coaches and mentors and attributes a lot of his success to his belief in seeking counsel. [23:07] - Perfect pricing is actually just slightly above what the budget is. Rather than negotiating the price, you negotiate the difference. [25:04] - When something hasn't been built yet, how do you price it and what do you say to pitch it? [27:04] - Sometimes you have to walk away from bad customers early on because it can be dangerous to keep them around in the long run. [29:53] - How do we find the right person as the first seller? Sales will drop when you hire initially and Belal recommends hiring in pairs. [32:15] - Instead of setting goals, Belal sets minimums. Instead of creating a ceiling, set a floor. [34:42] - Belal's faith and spirituality is important to him and he shares what he has learned to bring meaning to the money that drives him. [36:48] - Belal shares what he has learned from his relationship with his wife.   Connect with Belal: LinkedIn   Links and Resources: Your First Six Figures Masterclass  Join the $10K Club Apply for the $50K Club  ElyseArcher.com DM me on Instagram @elysearcher  

Guest: Rania Succar, CEO of Intuit MailchimpTen years out of college, and with two advanced degrees under her belt, Rania Succar knew she wanted to be an operator. Taking a job at Google taught her a lot, but she chafed under the limitations imposed on her control and personal impact. At Intuit, she finally found what she had been searching for: “We really do have a structure that's set up to give you massive amounts of accountability and responsibility.” For seven years, Rania worked across the Quickbooks team before becoming the CEO of Mailchimp in August 2022. And along the way, she also discovered the “beauty” in jointly owning some functions with her teammates: “It can actually be brilliant.”In this episode, Rania and Joubin discuss immigrant culture, boundless energy, the search for meaning, the illusion of control, getting back to equilibrium, registering your ambition, “Mailkimp,” prioritizing family, sleep experiments, passing the baton, finding problem-solvers, and meetings that give you energy.In this episode, we cover: The importance of family to Syrians, Persians, and immigrants (00:43) Navigating two cultures at the dinner table, and Rania's entrepreneurial father (04:48) The arc of her career, and figuring out where she wanted to put her energy (08:59) What motivates & energizes her, and what takes energy away (14:28) The need to own things end to end, and the beauty of sharing the controls (18:32) What Rania has learned over seven years at Intuit, and how she pushes to do more (24:32) Mailchimp's “genius” sponsorship of Serial, and preserving its scrappy culture (30:46) How Rania allocates her time every week, and finding “30% more efficiency” (34:13) Learning about the importance of sleep “the hard way” (38:45) Getting through the early months of COVID and being authentic with her team (43:30) Learning from leaders like Intuit's Bill Campbell and Scott Cook, and defining the “next chapter of exceptional” (46:51) How a visual impairment became a source of strength (52:54) Setting priorities and being a prisoner of one's calendar (57:16) Links: Connect with Rania Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

Guest: Lesley Young, CRO of GemLesley Young's favorite book is “The Obstacle Is The Way,” in which Ryan Holiday argues that the process of working hard to achieve something is more important than the achievement itself. When you find yourself in a position of leadership, the Gem CRO says, “you realize there's a lot of wisdom that you've gained in those experiences that you've had.” One of her passions is helping other people develop in the careers, which includes convincing them that “that hard yards are going to be the ones that are gonna grow them the most.”In this episode, Lesley and Joubin discuss speaking vs. observing, meeting your heroes, the Great Depression mindset, developing people, Workplace by Facebook, the power of discontent, choosing to show up, controlling the controllable, repeatable success, being “open for business,” getting fired up, remote work, “only the paranoid survive,” and hard feedback.In this episode, we cover: Prepping for public presentations (00:59) Meeting Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and working with Snowflake CRO Chris Degnan (04:44) Fear of everything evaporating, and becoming resourceful (09:28) The “purpose statement” Lesley wrote for her career, and why she loves to learn (14:16) Choosing to not be *the* leader all the time, and taking a risk on Facebook (20:35) Her relationship with her parents and being motivated by unfinished work (25:45) Ryan Holiday's “The Obstacle Is The Way” and the journey to the achievement (29:32) How to work with founders such as Box CEO Aaron Levie (35:58) Former Segment CEO Peter Reinhardt and asking the right question (41:03) Why Lesley joined Gem on the eve of a hiring downturn: The long-term play (47:26) Why Gem CEO Steve Bartel is an “amazing recruiter,” and the return of in-person collaboration (52:14) The toughest feedback Lesley has ever gotten about herself (59:42) Why delivering tough feedback is harder than receiving it (01:03:49) Links: Connect with LesleyLinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

Guest: Javier Molina, CRO of StarburstStarburst CRO Javier Molina's peers, colleagues, and even his wife often tell him the same thing: He's difficult to read. That doesn't mean he's not listening, though; in fact, he's focusing on many different things, speech patterns, the words used in addition to the social cues, a habit he describes as both a superpower and his Achilles heel. “It allows me to interview really well and assess talent,” says Javier, who describes himself as a social introvert. “It allows me to read situations ... [but] I think a lot of people like extroverts because of how they're so expressive and flashy ... and that's not me.”In this episode, Javier and Joubin discuss Austin culture, making eye contact, social introverts, living in the future, self-awareness, betting on yourself, workhorse culture, reverse job interviews, short-term wins, in-car WiFi, great partners, and world-class interviewing.In this episode, we cover: San Francisco vs. Austin and the flood of techies moving to Texas (01:08) The “movie that you can't turn off” and assessing people quickly (05:49) Patience, focus, and being present (14:10) “What is a common misconception of you?” (19:53) Self-awareness as a proxy for potential, and feeling different from the crowd (25:04) Buying houses, and betting on yourself (32:00) Being hired as an executive, and the culture of teams at bootstrapped companies (39:00) What Starburst does and turning the tables on CEO Justin Borgman (45:44) Being intentional, celebrating wins, and “enjoying the climb” (50:31) Getting away from work, and the strength of entrepreneurs' relationships (57:22) The little things in interviews, and why “a problem well stated is half solved” (01:02:50) How to screen for grit (01:07:41) Links: Connect with Javier Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

All of Dennis Lyandres' mentors — and even his parents — thought he was making a mistake when he joined Procore in 2014. At the time, he was working at the “it” company in Silicon Valley, Cloudera, and the startup was more than 10 years old without any major wins under its belt. But he knew someone “was gonna build a massive company” in construction software, and he found out that Procore's team was uniquely obsessive about making its customers successful: “It felt like a culture that wouldn't lose,” he says. In this episode, Dennis and Joubin discuss the power of food, being a “prep maniac,” finding satisfaction, the potential for greatness, the tickle of urgency, imposter syndrome, construction software, magical CEOs, internal pep talks, learning from failure, the wisdom of others, strong relationships, the Procore IPO, and life partners.In this episode, we cover: The Procore campus and employee experience (01:03)  How Dennis prepped for this podcast and lifelong learning (05:00) “Have I plateaued? Is this it?” (11:31) Channeling energy into your work, and knowing what you can change (17:42) Dennis' parents and how he thought about work for most of his career (22:30) His first jobs and why he left Cloudera for Procore (27:11) The first “oh shit” moment and the 10-year success story (34:25) The winning culture and what Dennis would do with a second chance (39:47) Scaling to nine-figure revenue and personal growth through failure (43:20) Great vs. terrible leadership and finding the right mentors (48:21) Procore CEO Tooey Courtemanche and relationships built on trust (55:08) Fixing the technology in construction (58:19) Powerful advice about ethics and interpersonal relationships (01:02:49) Thoughtful gifts and making space for another person in your life (01:08:58) Links: Connect with Dennis Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

In the middle of the Great Recession, Thomas Dohmke quit a stable job at a good company because “I wanted to build stuff again.” Specifically, he was inspired by the release of the first software development kit for iOS, and wanted to be part of the mobile revolution. Two companies later and halfway around the world, he is the CEO of software development powerhouse Github and on the precipice of another revolution — that of AI tools such as Github Copilot. Up to 40 percent of Copilot users' code is already being autocompleted by AI, and Thomas predicts that number could get to 80 percent in the next five years. “We are heading into a world where developers are much more architecture and system designers,” he says.In this episode, Thomas and Joubin discuss staying excited, A/B tests for life, triggering emails, “the toys you can't have,” self-driving car sensors, the first iPhone SDK, app testing, US work visas, life-changing money, Xamarin, is Github a social network?, being ultra-transparent, ghost text, ChatGPT and Midjourney, generating passion, rehearsing forever, Mittelstand companies, and the zen of LEGO.In this episode, we cover: Titles at Microsoft and working with CEO Satya Nadella (00:58) Being “85% happy” and the temptation to leave big companies for a startup (05:33) How Thomas went from early user to CEO of GitHub (09:22) Growing up in East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall (13:19) Why Thomas quit his job at the height of the financial crisis: “I wanna build stuff again” (22:28) Being acquired by Microsoft and coming to America (27:26) The startup mindset and “open-source” values (34:09) How Github's “AI programmer,” Copilot, will change everything for developers (40:32) When will generative AI have its “iPhone moment?” (45:44) Exponential change and preparing your kids for the unknown future (50:57) Communicating in English, and whether Thomas' family would ever go back to Germany (57:21) Tech culture in Europe vs. Silicon Valley and the pressure of “more” (01:01:19)  The “LEGO room” in Thomas' house (01:07:18) Links: Connect with Thomas Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

Freshworks president Dennis Woodside copes with stress by running as often as he can, a habit that began when he was CEO of Motorola Mobility. So far, he has run “16 to 17” Ironman triathlons. He's also continually challenging himself in his professional life, leaving Motorola in 2014 to advise the founder-CEOs: Dropbox's Drew Houston, Impossible Foods' Pat Brown, and now Freshworks' Girish Mathrubootham. Dennis' advice for anyone working with founders is to “have empathy” for what they're going through, and to understand what motivates them. Without that understanding, he says, you won't be able to arrive at a shared vision for the company.In this episode, Dennis and Joubin discuss mega-acquisitions, the smartphone paradigm shift, triathlons and competitiveness, winning every category, “softening up,” global cities, Google interview questions, spreading Silicon Valley culture, the “chrome panda moment,” hiring the right people, “Where do you want to be in five years?”, evaluating new opportunities, and building trust with founders.In this episode, we cover: Google's acquisition of Motorola and how Dennis went from ad exec to first-time CEO (02:00) Did Dennis like being the CEO of Motorola? (08:04) The stress of the new job and dealing with it through exercise (13:02) Dennis' impressive résumé and what dinner conversation was like growing up (18:37) Going to Korea and choosing the harder path (23:00) Joining Google in 2003 as a general problem-solver (26:23) Hiring “scouts” all around the world to better understand the internet (30:41) Leaving Motorola to mentor Dropbox CEO Drew Houston (39:12) Checking your ego and the listening tour that wasn't (42:20) Dropbox's IPO and why the stock has been relatively flat (48:38) Changing jobs without breaks, and spotting new opportunities like Freshworks (52:19) Tips for working with founders and interrogating the status quo (58:02) Dennis' most unique OKR at Dropbox (01:02:39) Links: Connect with DennisLinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

The best advice Brex founder and co-CEO Henrique Dubugras ever received came from Snap CEO Evan Spiegel: The best CEOs, Spiegel told him, are “extremely authentic to themselves ... If you try to emulate being Elon Musk and you're not like that, you're just gonna fail.” This wisdom has empowered Dubugras and his co-founder, Pedro Franceschi, to focus on the places where they can be most effective at Brex, and to be more authentic with their coworkers. In this episode, Henrique and Joubin discuss coaches vs. therapy, mutual crushes, “hacker famous,” big egos, why missions are overrated, dropping out of college, CEO's identities, the “Silicon Valley mold,” trojan-horsing Max Levchin, pivoting after two years, going to the ground, compensation and hiring myths, core customers, fixing expense report policies, and joining the Expedia board.In this episode, we cover: Growing up in Brazil and Henrique's relationship with his mom (01:07) The first company he sold, Pagar.me, and his co-founder Pedro Franceschi (07:11) Becoming “successful” and why it's fine to have a “f**ked up motivation” (10:35) ADHD, dueling superpowers, and focusing on the right things (15:56) Being an authentic CEO and not reading books (19:51) The radical changes Brex has experienced in the past three years (24:40) Brex's new spend management product and landing initial customers (30:30) The messages sent by how Brex structures its employee compensation (34:07) How Henrique and Pedro recruited top talent when they were just getting started (38:57) Pivoting a $12 billion company: “We can't do all these things” (43:33) The challenges of becoming more of an enterprise company than a Fintech one (50:34) Links: Connect with Henrique Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

“When you create something,” says ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott, “that gives you the ability to help and do good and achieve for the most people possible.” Bill left his first corporate job at Xerox for a short stint at Gartner, then served as CEO of SAP for nearly a decade. He made one more transition three years ago because he saw a great opportunity to help make ServiceNow a defining enterprise software company. “I knew it could happen,” he says. “What I didn't know is just how unbelievably right I was.”In this episode, Bill and Joubin discuss fist-pumps, shoplifting teens, Bill's superpowers, needing to be needed, marriage as a partnership, why every relationship matters, difficult relocations, breast cancer, the FDNY's chaplain, and the Medal of Honor. In this episode, we cover: Why Bill bought a deli when he was in high school — and how he competed against 7-Eleven (04:00) Interviewing at Xerox and wanting it more than anyone else (08:17) Unwavering optimism and being a source of strength for others (12:34) How a love of work has shaped Bill as a person (16:44) Facing challenges and keeping a promise to his father (22:00) Enjoying the present and keeping an eye on the future (30:01) Leaving Xerox for Gartner and learning from a tough experience (33:29) Sloan Kettering and Father Michael Judge (39:22) Following the “original dream” vs. building something new at ServiceNow (44:59) Losing an eye and getting a pep talk from two Medal of Honor winners (51:15) Why Bill started and ended his book with quotes from two Kennedys (01:01:21) Links: Connect with Bill Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Being able to solve a problem is the difference between being nice to have, to a need to have. What becomes tricky is that not everyone knows they have this problem, to begin with, and some do not know you hold their answer. Solving someone's problem could be their greatest gift. I will share more about the process of discovery questions and why this is so important to be able to identify what those questions are so you can serve your clients/customers the very best. Who's The Guest? After starting her career in inside sales, Hilary Swan worked her way up the competitive world of global sales to most recently running a $18m sales team across 3 different divisions. Having always wanted to start something of her own, she began looking into startup sales only to realize there is a huge accessibility gap from founder-led sales to the VP of sales hiring. Hilary founded Rebel Scout Consulting to give Startups and small businesses access to fractional sales leadership as they grow. Highlights Who is Hilary Swan? Mission to give entrepreneurs the edge to succeed: How she started Rebel Scout Consulting The impact of fractional engagement The transformation: From Corporate America to Startups Benefits of networking and building confidence in the workplace Importance of celebrating your wins Pros and cons of investing in intentional communication for small businesses Transition from founder-led sales to a scalable sales process Importance of accountability Benefits of fractional sales engagements Episode Resources Connect with Raul Hernandez Ochoa https://www.linkedin.com/in/dogoodwork/ https://twitter.com/rherochoa https://dogoodwork.io/ Connect with Hilary Swan https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilarynswan https://www.rebelscout.co/     Review, Subscribe and Share If you like what you hear please leave a review by clicking here

With more than 1,200 employees, it isn't easy for Gong co-founder and CEO Amit Bendov to stay in touch with everyone. So, his team has established a series of regular programs to communicate the company's priorities and give workers a chance to ask questions. And despite the revenue intelligence company's scale, they've established a core value called No Royalty: “You're supposed to be able to communicate with anybody in the company,” Amit says. “You're no better than anybody.”In this episode, Amit and Joubin discuss name pronunciation, education and culture, communicating in English, family as pseudo-co-founders, remote work, AI customer management, missing the quarter, “Google for enterprise,” drinking your Kool-Aid, “win as a team,” GPTChat and other AI breakthroughs, and solving problems vs. pursuing opportunities.In this episode, we cover: The “captain's table” and spreading company priorities (02:12) Amit's first jobs and splitting his time between the US and Israel (06:47) The differences in work culture between the two countries, and returning to the office (14:19) Amit's pre-gong jobs at Click Software, Panaya, and Sisense, and how he got the idea for Gong (18:40) Starting a new company in your 50s and why “nobody wanted to invest in us” (24:58) Gong's brand, its culture, and the lines before personal and professional (32:15) The art of company-building and enjoying the ride (34:59) Professional struggles and two embarrassing stories about cars (39:57) Being on autopilot, and the pros & cons of letting your mind wander (45:05) Automation vs. personal human relationships, and what AI can do that humans can't (48:04) If Amit were starting Gong over from scratch, what would he do differently? (55:08) Links: Connect with Amit Twitter Linkedin Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Jon Levin has been teaching at Stanford for more than 20 years, and has been the dean of the famous Graduate School of Business since 2016. Although teaching at Stanford puts him in contact with some of the most promising future entrepreneurs in tech, he says he hasn't yet been tempted to leave academia for a startup because “I actually love being part of an institution that's gonna be around for hundreds of years.” As public trust in institutions has eroded in recent years, Jon and his colleagues have had to make changes. For example: Proactively challenging GSB students to think about “What does it mean to be a leader of an organization in today's world?”In this episode, Jon and Joubin discuss honorific names, applying research in the real world, matching med school students, the “endless frontier,” the globalization of innovation, the entrepreneurial “itch,” the erosion of trust in institutions, US-China relations, students from Ukraine and Russia, what the GSB admissions staff looks for, self-awareness, the “Touchy Feely” class, and the serendipity of in-person classes. In this episode, we cover: The John Bates Clark Medal, and researching economic topics like auction design (01:56) Nobel Prize winners at the Stanford GSB and the uniqueness of the US university system (10:15) Teaching entrepreneurial students and the value of institutions (16:30) Being affirmative vs. reactive and how Jon measures success (23:07) International MBA students and the importance of geographic diversity (27:27) Growing up in an academic family and how Jon's theory of teaching (34:47) The qualities that “great” GSB alumni have in common, and the gradual changes to business school cohorts (39:12)  The qualities of “great” faculty and what was lost when classes moved to Zoom during COVID (47:06) Links: Connect with JonLinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

“Think about the pandemic without the internet,” says Cloudflare co-founder and COO Michelle Zatlyn. The world's sudden shift to doing almost everything online only worked because network engineers, IT administrators, and internet infrastructure companies like Cloudflare had done the work. Michelle says that, both personally and professionally, she's fine being under the radar because she doesn't need to be publicly reminded of the importance of her job: “It's like all the roads, the tunnels, the bridges ... when it works, it's magic. Really, you don't even know we exist.”In this episode, Michelle and Joubin discuss the pressure of success, advice for founders, low-drama startups, the power of the Cloudflare blog, internet security, the cross-country U-Haul trip, sweating the details, San Francisco as a “power center,” helping the next generation of founders, “the airplane effect,” injecting tension, why learning is a superpower, and choosing to feel the bumps in the road.In this episode, we cover: Carrying the torch for women in infrastructure and “just getting started” (01:15) Being under the radar and the over-glamorization of founders (07:19) Why it's so hard to hire & empower a great team (15:35) How Cloudflare is building a better internet (22:08) How Michelle, Matthew Prince, and Lee Holloway met and why they started Cloudflare (28:23) “Losing” at TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield — and turning it into a win (34:10) Building remote vs. choosing to be in the SF Bay Area (40:54) “I don't understand why anyone starts companies” (46:28) How to run the best board meeting ever (55:31) Why Michelle brought her kids to the New York Stock Exchange for “Mom's Special Day” (01:00:51) The skill that sets good founders apart from great ones (01:02:34) How a back injury took away a year of Michelle's life (01:10:16) Links: Connect with Michelle Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Grit has never been just about business, and success is not a vaccine against stress, anxiety, or depression. On today's special episode, Joubin looks back at nine past interviews and the advice shared by guests who have been through difficult personal challenges. You can find links to the full interviews these clips came from below.In this episode:  CCO Forter, Ozge Ozcan on burning out like a phoenix and the “dark side” of grit (01:05) CMO Samsara, Sarah Patterson on the value of being vulnerable — and specific — with your employees (06:14) Co-Founder & CEO Clari, Andy Byrne on his “dark year” and reframing big problems as moments in time (11:00) Former CRO at Notion, Olivia Nottebohm on accountability, empathy, and what people will remember when you're dead (21:28) Former CRO at HubSpot, Mark Roberge on crippling anxiety attacks and the importance of finding time for your own health (28:25) Founder & CEO Thrive, Arianna Huffington on the growing cultural acceptance of talking about burnout, stress, and sleep (37:13) Co-founder of Intuit, Scott Cook on spending time with family and recording your memories (44:11) Former President at NetApp, Tom Mendoza on how to find out who your real friends are (49:15) CRO Snowflake, Chris Degnan on the motivating power of fear (55:53) Links: Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

SAP Executive Board Member Scott Russell used to avoid talking about his personal life with coworkers. But “we want to understand and relate to each other,” he says, and being more open has made people more willing to trust and follow him. “Authenticity, you cannot manufacture that,” Scott says. “When you're only showing a part of who you are to your team, you're not showing your true, authentic self.” In this episode, Scott and Joubin discuss European business structures, three-year contracts, creating a positive impact, informed feedback loops, maintaining a good emotional quotient, too much optimism, tough phone calls, playing the movie forward, helping your community, life balance, implicit trust and authenticity, finding new opportunities, considering other points of view, and speedboats vs. load-bearers.In this episode, we cover: Living around the world and away from HQ (01:05) Signing a three-year contract with yourself (08:09) The responsibility of delivering $1 billion in revenue every week (11:55) Getting to the truth when you're near the top of a huge organization (14:07) The unintended consequences of optimism (17:11) Missing earnings and “what's the worst thing that could happen?” (20:11) Scott's childhood in Australia and his lifelong passion for basketball (26:21) Why the “work version” of Scott isn't the best version (30:15) Being authentic with coworkers and how to drive outcomes in your personal life (33:53) The one place Scott's family hasn't been able to relocate happily (38:47) Loyalty to your work and your family (42:42) How competition drives better performance and keeps you honest (47:45) Finding discipline in your schedule and forcing yourself to relax (54:46) Where SAP is hiring, and Scott's view of  potential M&A or strategic partnerships (57:08) Links: Connect with Scott Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

In Silicon Valley when business is good, it's normal for top talent to hop from company to company to company. But GE's Linda Boff, described by at least one of her peers as the "Beyoncé of CMOs," has stayed at the 130-year-old conglomerate for nearly 20 years, through radical changes to the business structure, and with plans to split into three public companies on the horizon. She attributes her longevity to the fact that four out of five days of any week, she's excited to come in: "I believe in this company," Linda says. "I would have the hardest time if that went away, and it never has."In this episode, Linda and Joubin discuss helping young people succeed, finding your passion, the 1980 Winter Olympics, Thomas Edison, Twitter advertising, sticktoitiveness, being excited for work, being impatient, trying to please everybody, and calendar time management.In this episode, we cover: How a chance encounter with Video Monitoring Systems founder Robert Cohen changed Linda's life (03:17)  Where Linda's work ethic came from, and her serial internships (06:21) Elon Musk and brand safety on Twitter (12:47)  Why Linda has worked at GE for almost 20 years, and how it became an "industrial powerhouse" (15:22)  Choosing to stay and giving a shit (21:40)  How much should you love your job? (25:57)  If she were starting over, what would Linda do differently? (32:09)  Getting the truth & what other people think (34:38)  Linda's calendar and writing thank-you notes to coworkers (38:55) Links: Connect with Linda Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada has mixed feelings about how she is often portrayed in the press, as a “badass woman CEO.” The scarcity of female executives in enterprise means that it's often the first thing anyone wants to talk about — not her performance leading a $2 billion company, or her team. She has specifically designed that team to include more under-represented people like her, so that she is not “the only one in the room” — but one executive team isn't enough. “In my peer group, there's still not enough Hayden Browns, there's not enough Yamini Rangans, there's not enough Safra Katzes,” Jennifer says. “And that is a failing of the industry.”In this episode, Jennifer and Joubin discuss IPO chasers, the P&G Mafia, reward-centered leadership, participation trophies, serving others in a crisis, working women, plate spinning, perfect girl syndrome, unconscious bias, competitive offshore yacht racing, disconnecting from work, “re-finders,” interrupt work, consistent high standards, beginner's mind, talent identification, weird but beloved brand names, and dealing with grief.In this episode, we cover: The good side of market corrections, and investing in people (00:58) Learning how to fail and where Jennifer's work ethic came from (05:28) Her father's death and how she adjusts “when shit hits the fan” (13:03) Recognizing your own limits and working for your family (17:43) The double-edged sword of being a visible female CEO (23:13) Taking a break from your career to work on yourself (28:42) Identity in Silicon Valley and getting put in a box (35:09) How Jennifer got to PagerDuty and delivering value to customers (40:17) PagerDuty's IPO in the middle of a major pivot (45:23) Responsibility overload and self-criticism (49:36) Founder-led companies and the advantages of being a “re-finder” (52:55) PagerDuty's transition from one product to many (57:56) The “unfathomable loss” of Phylicia “PJ” Jones and being vulnerable with coworkers (1:00:36) Why grit is a requirement for success (01:06:52) Links: Connect with Jennifer Twitter LinkedIn Email: jennifer@pagerduty.com Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

When DVx Ventures co-founder Jon McNeill joined Tesla in 2015, he told his new boss Elon Musk: “You won't see me at least a day a week.” That's because Jon believes the job of any leader is to make time to talk to front-line workers who know things executives don't. While he was at Tesla he spent 20% of his time in service centers, support centers, or in retail stores, asking the people who worked there the same question: “If you had had my job for a day, what are the two things you would do to make this place better?”In this episode, Jon and Joubin discuss serial entrepreneurship, growing up without money, road trips, horizontal and vertical mentors, “our generation's Da Vinci,” first-principles thinking, sleeping in the factory, solving problems together, accelerometers, sharing bad news, the similarities between Lululemon and Tesla, “perfect product,” cash-incinerating businesses, transitioning legacy companies, and the Sutter Hill method.In this episode, we cover: Why Elon Musk bought Twitter and how he's running it, two weeks in (03:46) How Jon's father nudged him into an entrepreneurial mindset (06:12) Building an intentional, present  relationship with your family (10:15) What Jon learned from Intuit co-founder Scott Cook (15:55) How he got to Tesla, and learned how to work with Elon (18:55) The east Asia trip that birthed Neuralink and The Boring Company (24:56) Ramping up demand for the Tesla Model S and the “manufacturing hell” of the Model X (29:54) Solving problems under pressure and Jon's hack for staying sane (35:57) Recruiting world-class talent (41:05) What Jon asked Elon before joining Tesla (45:37) “Make them talk about you at dinner” (50:47) Simplifying things is an unfair advantage (54:27) What frontline workers know, and Jon's 20% rule (57:08) Lyft's “arms race” with Uber and what DVx's companies do differently (1:00:36) How Jon got to be on the board of GM (1:08:00) Links: Connect with Jon Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Health monitoring company Whoop, founded and led by CEO Will Ahmed, hid a secret message on the circuitboard of its latest wearable device. “It says, ‘Don't bother copying us, we will win,'” Will says. “And it also has every engineer who worked on Whoop 4.0's initials.” For more than 10 years, Whoop has attracted fans from world-famous athletes to everyday consumers, and its deep-pocketed rivals have noticed. After financing talks with Amazon fell apart, “they just directly ripped us off” and made a copycat product called the Amazon Halo. “We were energized by it and we were kinda like, ‘OK, bring it on,'” Will says.In this episode, Will and Joubin discuss sounding relatable, only children, Persian taarof, Michael Jordan's birthday party, why measuring sleep is more important than measuring steps, overcoming doubt, understanding sleep, 24/7 wearables, the sleep leaderboard, LeBron James, Will's wearable “hit list,” getting ripped off by Amazon, detecting COVID-19, cold showers, disassociating yourself from your business, and the misguided “Zoom craze."In this episode, we cover:  Simple, clear communication (04:31) What Will has learned from his unique parents, and his Persian wife (08:35)  Checking people's wrists and why Joubin doesn't have a Whoop yet (15:28) Hanging out with sports idols (20:08) How Whoop got started (23:07) Staying confident in the face of doubters (27:59) How Whoop decided what to measure, and why it's not a smartwatch (31:44) The $100 sleep bonus and “red recoveries" (38:07) Competing against Nike, Under Armour, Apple, and more (42:21) Pivoting to a subscription model and the impact of COVID (45:04) Getting ripped off by Amazon (49:11) How Whoop got started on COVID research early (51:29) Will's everyday habits, including cold showers and meditation (57:21) What Whoop is hiring for, and why they are largely in-office (01:01:16) Links: Connect with Will Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

As a veteran of several high-powered organizations — including McKinsey, Google, Dropbox — Notion advisor Olivia Nottebohm has learned the importance of respecting her teams' personal journeys. She believes none of the 10 most important milestones in any person's life will be career-related, and it's important for leaders like her to strike a balance between accountability and empathy. “Before I need to have a tough conversation,” she says, “I try to put myself in their situation and think, ‘OK, how would I best receive something? ... [And] how is this person different from me?'”In this episode, Olivia and Joubin discuss immigrant assimilation, the joy of learning, college vs. startups, stepping away from work, growth vs. profits vs. product, steep learning curves, working through a restructuring, collaborative creativity, what CEOs care about, community-led growth, screening for Grit, finding focus, and the only things people will remember about us when we're gone.In this episode, we cover: Olivia's parents and how she became a grammar stickler (01:00) Small-town ice hockey and playing with the boys (03:54) Why her parents didn't want Olivia to go to Harvard, and what she wants for her own kids (08:49) Choosing to go into business instead of science (15:32) What changed for Olivia when her brother passed away unexpectedly (18:42) “Grow Fast or Die Slow” (24:29) Who doesn't believe in growth in 2022? (31:37) Leaving McKinsey after making partner (35:32) Six years at Google and one year at Dropbox — starting right before COVID (39:34) How Olivia got to Notion, the crowded “all-in-one” space, and its enormous addressable market (42:36) The evolution of go-to-market strategies (49:43) Accountability, empathy, and the biggest milestones in everyone's life (58:36) Links: Connect with Olivia Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

“I literally thought to myself, I probably made the biggest mistake of my life taking this job.” That's what Ali Ghodsi recalls about his decision step up the CEO role at Databricks, which would mean leaving a desirable post at UC Berkeley. He wasn't sure if the company would make it, and some of Databricks' board agreed that as an academic, he wasn't right for the job. But they all wound up being wrong: Ali has led the company from $3 million ARR to $800 million, and the data-analytics company was valued at $38 billion after raising $2.5 billion last year.In this episode, Ali and Joubin discuss fleeing Iran in the 1980s, immigrating to Sweden,  coding as an escape, order out of chaos, learning how to value work, right place right time, Ben Horowitz, whole genome sequencing, Turing Tests, academics as CEOs, leveling up executives, what great leaders look like, the communication needed to raise, and the problem with “data-driven” cultures. In this episode, we cover: What Ali remembers from before his family left Iran (01:00) Moving to Sweden and Ali's first jobs (04:00) What if your wealth and privilege suddenly disappeared? (10:01) Finding time for family and oneself while working insane hours (14:04) Over-working, panic attacks, and PTSD (18:08) Researching cloud computing at UC Berkeley, and the start of Databricks (26:06) What Databricks does for companies with lots of data (31:22) The anxiety of competing against an incumbent as a 10-person team (36:03) The concerns of the Databricks board — and Ali himself — about him becoming the CEO (42:42) Learning from more experienced CEOs and other executives (48:27) Approving new hires and what Ali looks for when grilling job candidates (52:02) Deposits, withdrawals and how much time he spends on hiring (56:08) What it means to have a culture of “truth-seeking” (01:00:03) Links: Connect with Ali Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Before Zscaler's Dali Rajic arrived at his current company, he helped grow AppDynamics from $7 million in annual recurring revenue to nearly $1 billion — and for his next move, he knew he had to do something even bigger. That's why he was excited to transition to Zscaler's COO in February after more than two years as its CRO: “It was a job worth taking because it stretched me and it made me uncomfortable.”In this episode, Dali and Joubin discuss the state of tech M&A, the meaning of wealth and comfort, the value of hard work, being perceived as intense, going into business instead of science, inspiring your kids, bucketing how your spend your time, integrity and self-awareness, how to recognize your teammates' contributions, injecting tension, cutting through the noise, demanding excellence of yourself, celebrating the moment, and allowing yourself to unwind.In this episode, we cover: Adobe's $20 billion acquisition of Figma, compared to Cisco's 2017 acquisition of AppDynamics (01:18) What AppDynamics could have become if it hadn't sold (08:17) Remembering your roots when you get a life-changing amount of money (12:26) Growing up in Germany, and why Dali came to the US when he was 16 (18:56)  Living to work and finding fulfillment (23:16) The old-school sales style vs. the new generation's (26:10)  The unusual way Dali got hired at AppDynamics, and how he thinks about the arc of his career (30:15) Asking for the things you want and prioritizing your responsibilities (35:59) Hiring mistakes and what traits Dali looks for in candidates (45:36) How to turn big wins into learning moments (50:28) The benefits of making people “uncomfortable” in their jobs (55:23) Maximizing yield for individuals vs. organizations (01:01:39) Why Dali schedules his time off as strictly as his time on (01:08:35) Links: Connect with DaliLinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

“Everyone excellent at their craft starts from a place of deep insecurity,” says Flexport's founding CRO Ben Braverman. People are “slow-burning fireworks,” he explains, and we need time to learn how to do anything well. If you lie to yourself, you won't ever improve; but if you admit the truth and approach people who know more with genuine curiosity and enthusiasm, Ben says,  you'll be able to level up faster and do things you never could before.In this episode, Ben and Joubin discuss giving speeches without prep, soliciting negative feedback, genuine curiosity, dropping out of college, valuing your experience, embracing Buddhism, outside dogs vs. inside dogs, hiring with enthusiasm, “Goldilocks companies,” the secondary sales paradox, the value of exercise, building an outbound sales machine, “natural” sellers vs. fast learners, and the warning signs that 2021 venture funding was “off.”In this episode, we cover: Being yourself and the pressure to be someone else in business (08:23) What Flexport does and how it cracked a low-tech industry (15:36) The advice Ben would give to his younger self: Enjoy the ride (21:09) How he became the founding CRO of Flexport (26:43) Turning on sales and hiring Justin Schafer (31:25) Growing from thousands in revenue to $3.3 billion (36:59) The trade-offs of always being on the road (40:41) Personal growth in the face of exponential product growth (45:30) Product-led growth and the magic of list construction (50:36) The unique way Flexport sales managers earn equity (53:29) How to spot the next Ben Braverman (57:26) The connection between excellence and insecurity (01:03:00) Going from operating to investing and the long window of venture (01:05:43) How and why both Ben and Flexport's founding CEO Ryan Petersen stepped aside and passed the baton (01:12:08) Links: Connect with Ben Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

When Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman and his co-founders opened their second-ever store, it was a “complete mess.” Located in Washington D.C.'s Dupont Circle and opening in the middle of the Great Recession, it was clearing less than $1000 per day at first. But Neman & co turned that crisis into opportunity the only way three 23-year-olds knew how: They bought a big speaker, started blasting music in the park, and turned their sleepy storefront into a party. That desperate play underscored one of Sweetgreen's core values that they still work towards today: Healthy living can be fun.In this episode, Jonathan and Joubin discuss Sweetgreen's new office, its new tofu, avocado volatility, frozen yogurt, Persian families, the power of capitalism, the “House of Equilibrium,” the problem with franchising, healthy music festivals, scalable brands, people-driven companies, giving workers equity, “Behind the Greens,” overachievers, building a better McDonalds, and “conscious achievers.”In this episode, we cover: Where the name Sweetgreen came from (05:42) Online ordering and the “second line” (08:34) Jonathan's family and post-COVID attitudes about work (11:30) Returning to the office (17:20) Jonathan's brief detour to Bain & Company, and the difference between entrepreneurs and consultants (20:58) The unusual way Sweetgreen raised its first several rounds, and scaling sustainably (27:00) Turning crisis into opportunity, and the Sweetlife Festival (33:10) Winning your category vs. becoming a lifestyle brand (37:40) Why Sweetgreen calls the general managers of its stores “head coaches,” and gives them equity (44:20) The health journeys of Sweetgreen's staff, and the importance of the fundamentals (47:24) Shifting Sweetgreen's strategic focus to build the restaurant company of the future (53:09) COVID-19 and “getting your ass kicked” (55:05) Letting go as a founder (59:51) Links: Connect with JonathanLinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

For more than 10 years, AOL co-founder and Revolution Chairman Steve Case has been investing in startups in all corners of the US — and urging others to do the same. His new book about this movement, The Rise of the Rest, explains why: The next wave of the tech industry, he argues, is not going to be anchored to physical offices in Silicon Valley alone. “The pandemic has created more attention on that,” he says. “That dispersion that started a decade ago accelerated over the last couple years ... people will be intrigued by the level of innovation happening in these cities.”In this episode, Steve and Joubin discuss changing attitudes toward young CEOs, the future of entrepreneurship across the US, the benefits of not being headquartered in Silicon Valley, investing in startups around the world, integrating technology into other systems, revolutions as evolutions, delegating paranoia, shifting one's mindset as CEO, the missing killer app for blockchain, the commercialization of the internet, the 50th anniversary of communism in China, “the worst merger of all time,” and how AOL almost bought eBay.In this episode, we cover: Why Steve got demoted as CEO of AOL before it went public (04:55) His new book, The Rise of the Rest, and his previous book, The Third Wave (11:08) Democratizing capital for startups across America — and flying on Air Force One (18:43) America's entrepreneurial success “didn't happen by accident” (22:36) AOL's early market motions and the resurgence of the “business person” in tech (25:16) The earliest days of online computer services pre-AOL (29:13) Steve's entrepreneurial origins and believing in the potential of the internet (35:20) A short-lived Apple partnership in the 1980s, and the invention of “America Online” (39:49) Being a shock absorber for the rest of the company (44:28) The difficulty of scaling AOL and betting big on community over content (48:54) AOL and Time Warner's notorious merger, and Steve's tactical decision to step down as CEO (56:08) The aftermath of his resignation: “It was frustrating to go from leading to watching” (01:03:25) Managing a family in tandem with a fast-scaling startup (01:07:54) Links: Connect with Steve Twitter LinkedIn Buy The Rise of the Rest Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Businesses need to think about who they can trust when making decisions in their businesses. It's difficult for entrepreneurs, but there are tools out now that will help them make better choices and avoid mistakes! For example- did you know an AI has been built which predicts human behavior around lending money? Tune in as we discuss how tech startups can break through in the business! How does Trust Science technology work Bad lending in the traditional process How to find your focus as an entrepreneur Navigating the dilemma of being ahead Sales process for startups to generate revenue Why you should be transparent as a startup How to build a sales team for a startup About Evan Chrapko Evan started Trust Science® with his brother Shane. Evan is a serial entrepreneur and investor having served as CEO or advisor for numerous innovative start-ups including FloNetworks (acquired by DoubleClick for $80 Million) and PlateSpin (acquired by Novell for $205 Million). Prior to Trust Science, Evan and Shane founded and, within 30 months, sold cloud storage pioneer DocSpace for $568 million. Evan is a CPA, CA, and holds a Juris Doctor (Law Degree) from Columbia University. He is a Henry Crown Fellow and member of YPO and has been named to the Real Leaders Global 100 (alongside Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Peter Diamandis, and others.) Evan Chrapko LinkedIn Trust Science Website Going further Sales professionals, this workshop is for you! Learn from the best in the business. The Catapulting Commissions Academy Workshop will teach you how to increase your sales and close more deals. You'll learn techniques that have helped salespeople achieve success in a $500M Sales Organisation. If you want to take your career to the next level and learn from some of the top sales professionals in the world, then this workshop is for you. Register now and join us for an exciting 2-day live event. You won't regret it! Click here to register for the Catapulting Commissions Academy Workshop today!

Intuit co-founder Scott Cook still remembers the first line of an email he received in 1994 from billg@microsoft.com: “This really is Bill Gates.” Intuit's personal finance product Quicken had survived being crushed by Microsoft Money, and its new accounting software Quickbooks was thriving as well; instead of competing, Gates wanted to buy Intuit for $1.5 billion and take it worldwide. A deal was struck, hands were shook, but there was just one problem: The U.S. Department of Justice.In this episode, Scott and Joubin discuss finding happiness in your career, who Scott aspired to emulate when he was a young CEO, recruiting for excellence, the radical decision to make Quicken easy to use, the power of paradigms, pulling out of the death spiral, the “oncoming train” of Microsoft, United States v. Microsoft Corp., stepping back from a leadership role, what Scott learned from his successor Bill Campbell, and investing in Snapchat.In this episode, we cover: Allocating your time for both family and work (07:05) Working with Meg Whitman, Steve Ballmer, and other future stars (11:11) How Scott recruited his co-founder Tom Proulx, and other key figures at Intuit (15:32) Why more than two dozen venture capital firms refused to invest in Intuit (24:03) How Wells Fargo kept Intuit alive at its most desperate hour (33:00) The impact of Intuit's struggle on Scott's personal life, and going direct to consumers (37:45) Scott's history with Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr (42:34) Quicken vs. Microsoft Money in an era when Microsoft crushed every competitor (45:31) Microsoft's attempt to buy Intuit, and the antitrust lawsuit that sunk it all (54:32) Stepping down as CEO of Intuit and recruiting the “trillion-dollar coach,” Bill Campbell (01:02:00) How Scott met Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel and became one of his first investors (01:12:30) Links: Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Productboard founder and CEO Hubert Palan has made a point of studying the communication style of other leaders, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Elon Musk. But as the boss of a hot and growing tech startup, he's realizing just how exceptional those people are. “You're interviewing some of the top execs from companies are the Silicon Valley darling brands,” he says. “You leave the interview like, ‘This person has no idea what they're doing. They just happen to be in the right spot at the right time.'” But that's the necessary price, he explains, of doing something innovative instead of iterating on old ideas.In this episode, Hubert and Joubin are joined by Kleiner Perkins partner and Productboard investor Ilya Fushman to discuss Christmas carp, entrepreneurial soft skills, extreme frugality, VCs-as-bosses, the unique reason Hubert went vegetarian, studying famous speeches, being self-critical, the truth about “killing it” in tech, mis-hiring, selling outside your target customer segment, and why Hubert schedules everything.In this episode, we cover: How Hubert and Ilya conducted due diligence on each other (08:49) How Productboard drives revenue generation for modern companies (14:12) The wild fluctuations of the “founder mood meter” (20:00) The value of knowing how hard being a founder will be (28:25) Tough quarters and being transparent with your board (34:35) Holding oneself accountable vs. “showing what's possible” (38:30) The risk of losing the mission as companies scale (43:15) Going upmarket is like running a new business (51:08) Hubert's economic survey of Productboard's board (57:39) Making time for your personal life (59:29) Links: Connect with Hubert Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Ilya Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon believes his company is perfectly positioned for the world economy of the future, connecting everything from phones to exercise bikes to cars. And he predicts we're about to see AI-assisted cars  deployed at a “mass scale.” Fully autonomous vehicles, he concedes, will take longer — perhaps 5 or 10 years — but he says it's in everyone's interest to make an intermediate level of assisted driving available in every vehicle on the highway, not just premium cars like Teslas.In this episode, Cristiano and Joubin discuss Cristiano's brief diversion away from Qualcomm in venture capital, connecting smart devices, endurance and reinvention, growing up in Brazil, work-life balance, self-driving cars and vintage sports cars, making the “Star Wars hologram” real, digital twins, and introversion vs. extroversion.In this episode, we cover: The semiconductor supply chain, and manufacturing chips in the US & EU (10:00) Why Qualcomm is in the “gladiator business” (14:30) Making time for your family and your health (18:57) Measuring Qualcomm in two-year and ten-year cycles (21:28) The incremental steps from today's assisted driving to fully autonomous cars (24:41) Virtual reality, augmented reality, smart glasses, and the metaverse (30:31) Cristiano's time demands and the difference between impatience and being in a hurry (36:41) Loving your job and making space for everything else (40:38) Links: Connect with Cristiano Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

“When I grew up in Bangalore, I'd never seen a computer,” says Thomas Kurian. The former president of Oracle, now the CEO of Google Cloud, remembers learning how to write while sitting outside his childhood home, and doing homework by candlelight during power blackouts. He credits his “trailblazer” mother, who instilled curiosity and discipline in all her children, with helping them understand the value of education beyond doing well on the next test. Something must have stuck, because Thomas is not the only Kurian in a major leadership position in Silicon Valley; his twin brother, George, is the CEO of NetApp. In this episode, Thomas and Joubin discuss how he accidentally got into computer programming, giving children the freedom to be curious, how to order a sandwich, leading 60 software acquisitions, knowing your own value-add, innovation through experimentation, investing in the future, and being competitor-aware and customer-obsessed.In this episode, we cover: Thomas' childhood in India (03:45) His twin brother George — the CEO of NetApp — and their trailblazing mother (07:40) Nostalgia for simpler times without responsibilities (14:03) Working up the ranks at Oracle, from product manager to president (21:40) The Google Cloud opportunity (30:12) How to succeed inside a huge organization (32:38) The big difference between Oracle and Google Cloud in 2019 (39:35) The “mother of God” opportunity of the cloud (42:35) The advice Thomas gives to other CEOs (48:25) Links: Connect with Thomas Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

After Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr first invested in Google — $12.8 million for 13 percent of the company — he told co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin that they needed to hire a CEO to help them build the business. After they took meetings with a variety of successful tech execs, they came back to Doerr and told him “We've got some good news and some bad news.” The good news was that they agreed on the need for a CEO; the bad news, Doerr recalls, is that they believed there was only one person qualified for the role: The then-CEO of Pixar and interim CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs. In this, the 100th episode of Grit, John and Joubin discuss the urgent need to act on the climate crisis, getting turned down by Kleiner Perkins, CEOs as sales leaders, the microprocessor revolution, choosing between work and family, the opportunity of AI and sustainability, what makes Jeff Bezos special, Bing Gordon and the invention of Amazon Prime, the Google CEO search, how the iPhone nearly killed Apple, Steve Jobs' greatest gift, Bill Gates' philanthropy, and how Doerr divides his time.In this episode, we cover: John's two books — Measure What Matters and Speed & Scale — and applying OKRs to the climate crisis (02:45) How John got to Silicon Valley and what he learned from his entrepreneurial father, Lou (09:00) “I didn't want to be in venture capital” (16:28) Joining Kleiner Perkins at the dawn of personal computing (20:05) The internet, cloud computing, smartphones, and the next big tech wave: AI (24:53) How John met Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (29:48) Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and teaming up with Mike Moritz from Sequoia (38:29) John's friendship with Steve Jobs and the creation of the $100 million iFund for iPhone apps (45:20) “Family first” and setting personal OKRs (50:14) Working with Bill Gates outside of Kleiner Perkins (52:53) Brian Roberts, Comcast, and hustling to make at-home broadband nationwide (59:30) Links: Connect with John Twitter LinkedIn Email: johnd@kpcb.com Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Touch The Top CEO Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to summit Mount Everest, climbs hundreds of mountains every year. And he's learned over the years that sometimes, the smartest thing to do in the face of adversity is stop, turn around, and go home; but in other situations, like an unexpectedly icy day climbing Mount Kenya, one only has to change their approach. “The mountain doesn't care, the mountain's not gonna change,” he says. “We could still maybe get to the summit, even though the mountain gave us absolute, unforeseen challenges.”In this episode, Erik and Joubin discuss climbing Mount Everest, kayaking the Grand Canyon, how Erik went blind, the “seven summits,” his relationship with his father, turning back vs. changing your approach, continually growing and scaring yourself, the Khumbu Icefall, what's different about ice climbing, how to be OK with the small things, and what Erik learned from watching Canadian athlete Terry Fox.In this episode, we cover: Are blind people's other senses heightened?  (05:56) The different types of blindness and how Erik perceives the world — and dreams (09:17) The “double-knockout blow” of going blind and losing his mother (19:07) “No-mistakes moments” and pushing yourself to your limit (24:49) Erik's relationship with death, and with the calm times between accomplishments (30:18) Needing to stand on the summit (36:31) Learning how to be miserable and training yourself to suffer (47:55) The importance of having a team you can trust with your life (52:05) The personal toll of climbing, and the terror of kayaking blind (55:20) Erik's story's resonance with the business community (01:00:46) Not letting yourself be imprisoned by fear, and realizing your full potential (01:04:06) Links: Connect with Erik Twitter LinkedIn Connect with Joubin Twitter LinkedIn Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com  Learn more about Kleiner Perkins