Podcast appearances and mentions of Stewart Butterfield

Canadian entrepreneur and businessman

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Stewart Butterfield

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Best podcasts about Stewart Butterfield

Latest podcast episodes about Stewart Butterfield

Go To Market Grit
#226 President & COO Coinbase, Emilie Choi: Through the Storm

Go To Market Grit

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2025 60:11


Guest: Emilie Choi, president & COO of CoinbaseAfter the collapse of FTX in 2022, “the whole industry was tarnished,” recalls Coinbase COO Emilie Choi. “Politicians came out criticizing crypto, saying it was a fraud.”But unlike FTX, Coinbase was a public company in the U.S. So when the SEC served it a Wells notice, announcing its intent to charge the company with violating securities laws, the executive team took an unusual step: They went on the offensive, publicly calling BS on the agency.“Well-regarded CEOs from TradFi, they were like, ‘You don't do that,'” Emilie says. “'You don't antagonize your regulator.' ... It was a combination of chutzpah and maybe desperation that we were like, ‘We have to go tell our story, because if we don't, nobody else will.'”Chapters: (01:14) - Working with founder CEOs (04:12) - Mission first (07:16) - Reviewing candidates (09:48) - Unusual hiring (11:22) - Crypto after FTX (16:29) - Operation Choke Point 2.0 (19:19) - Grin and bear it (21:24) - Channeling negativity (24:21) - Going to war with the SEC (26:20) - Donald Trump and Gary Gensler (28:38) - Was it worth it? (31:19) - Shipping challenges (34:03) - OKRs and personal goals (36:41) - Brian Armstrong and structure (40:56) - The COO guidebook (43:30) - Removing bureaucracy (46:50) - Investing in crypto (49:41) - After Coinbase (53:03) - Constantly on (54:53) - Favorite interview questions (56:28) - Who Coinbase is hiring (58:28) - Standing for something Mentioned in this episode: Google Chat, executive coaches, Mark Zuckerberg, LinkedIn, Jeff Weiner, speed reading, Warner Bros., Elizabeth Warren, Sam Bankman-Fried, Wells notices, Paul Grewal, Chris Lehane, Airbnb, OpenAI, FOIA requests, Balaji Srinivasan, Dan Romero, Kevin Scott, Microsoft, Patrick McHenry, Ritchie Torres, Fairshake PAC, A16z, Ripple, Stand With Crypto, Dogecoin, Robinhood, Charles Schwab, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Paul Ryan, Faryar Shirzad, Kara Calvert, Elon Musk, Earn.com, Ben Horowitz, Bain Capital Ventures, Claire Hughes Johnson and Scaling People, Directly Responsible Individuals, Fidelity, BlackRock, Yahoo!, Stewart Butterfield, Brad Garlinghouse, Alibaba, Flickr, cognitive tests, and Loom.Links:Connect with EmilieTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

Decoder with Nilay Patel
The impossible dream of good workplace software

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2024 50:22


I'm talking with my good friend David Pierce, Vergecast co-host and The Verge's editor-at-large, about something he spends an ungodly amount of time thinking and writing about: software. Scores of new workplace apps are cropping with clever metaphors to try to make us work differently. Sometimes that works… and sometimes it really, really doesn't. And it feels like the addition of AI to the mix will accelerate the pace of experimentation here in pretty radical ways. Links:  Why software is eating the world | Wall Street Journal (2011) Mailchimp CEO Rania Succar on why email makes sense for Intuit | The Verge Why would anyone make a website in 2023? | The Verge Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami isn't worried AI will kill the web | The Verge Figma CEO Dylan Field is optimistic about AI | The Verge We don't sell saddles here | Stewart Butterfield (2014) The CEO of Zoom wants AI clones in meetings | The Verge Dropbox CEO Drew Houston wants you to embrace AI | The Verge Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Xander Adams. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Go To Market Grit
#207 Co-Founder & Chairman Zynga, Mark Pincus: Speed of Play

Go To Market Grit

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2024 73:49


Guest: Mark Pincus, founder & chairman of Zynga, and managing member & co-founder of Reinvent CapitalBefore Zynga and Facebook made social gaming mainstream, the video game industry was “extreme on this being about art and crafting,” recalls Zynga founder Mark Pincus. He believes his winning instinct was the realization that games were “at least 50 percent science” — but it's not enough to just have the instinct. Mark says entrepreneurs like him have to quickly take multiple shots on the goal and “look for feedback loops that tell you your instinct is right ... you need to get to a minimum viable idea state and you need to find true signal around that idea state, that it's right or wrong, and move on.”Chapters:(01:40) - Rubbing sticks together (07:01) - Virtual businesses (12:10) - Pre-Zynga companies (13:51) - Setting the real intention (17:44) - Internet treasures (23:21) - Disrupting gaming (30:14) - The chip on Mark's shoulder (33:19) - The end of Tribe (37:24) - Zynga Poker (42:59) - Explosive growth (46:57) - Making the virtual real (52:02) - The downturn (58:12) - Stepping aside (sort of) (01:01:50) - Back into the fire (01:08:45) - In the abyss (01:11:46) - What “grit” means to Mark Mentioned in this episode: Dot Earth, Elon Musk and the Boring Company, Uber Eats and Dara Khosrowshahi, ChatGPT, Roblox, Madhappy, Reid Hoffman, Craigslist, Google, Napster and Sean Parker, the California Culinary Academy, Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, Yahoo, John Doerr, Words with Friends, LinkedIn, Tribe.net, Supercell and Ilkka Paananen, FarmVille and Hay Day, Parker Conrad and Rippling, Bing Gordon, Fred Wilson, Brad Feld, the Game Developer's Conference, CNET, Matt Cohler, Don Mattrick, Microsoft and the Xbox, Joe Biden, Jason Citron and Discord, Steve Jobs, Super Labs, Marcus Segal, Frank Gibeau, The Courage to Be Disliked, and Stewart Butterfield.Links:Connect with MarkTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
Why not asking for what you want is holding you back | Kenneth Berger (exec coach, first PM at Slack)

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2024 73:36


Kenneth Berger coaches startup leaders on how to prevent burnout, advocate for their desired lifestyle, and make a meaningful impact on the world. He's spent more than 20 years in the tech industry, is a former founder backed by top investors, and was the first product manager at Slack. Kenneth's core mission is to help startup leaders change the world by learning to ask for what they want, living with integrity, and building genuine relationships even with the people they find most challenging. Currently he is writing a book, Ask for What You Want, in which he aims to share his actionable strategies for creating change in the world. In our conversation, we explore:• Why asking for what you want is so impactful• Three steps to effectively ask for what you want• Challenges that arise when people struggle to ask for what they want• Why hearing “no” is a normal part of the process• The “dream behind the complaint” technique for uncovering desires• Kenneth's experience of being fired three times from Slack• How embracing fear and discomfort is key to getting what you want• Why discipline is overrated—Brought to you by:• Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers• Webflow—The web experience platform• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ask-for-what-you-want-kenneth-berger—Where to find Kenneth Berger:• X: https://twitter.com/kberger• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@kberger• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kberger/• Website: https://kberger.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Kenneth's background(04:31) The importance of asking for what you want(06:36) Challenges that arise when people struggle to ask for what they want(08:09) A personal example of failing to ask for what you want(09:17) Signs this is a skill you need to work on(10:49) How to get better at knowing what you want(15:28) Why hearing “no” is a normal part of the process(17:29) Getting a “yes” vs. a “hell yes”(19:20) Step 1: Articulate what you want(24:07) Doing an integrity check(26:56) Step 2: Ask for what you want intentionally(30:45) Understanding your influence(34:48) Using complaints as inspiration(36:24) Internal family systems(38:00) Giving feedback(41:24) Step 3: Accept the response(45:22) Kenneth's experience of being fired three times from Slack(57:30) Advice on being the first PM at a company or startup(01:04:58) Contrarian corner: anti-discipline(01:05:52) Lightning round—Referenced:• Joining as the first product manager: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/joining-as-the-first-product-manager• Internal Family Systems: https://ifs-institute.com/• How to build deeper, more robust relationships | Carole Robin (Stanford GSB professor, “Touchy Feely”): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/build-robust-relationships-carole-robin• Leaders in Tech: https://leadersintech.org/• The Three Realities Framework | The 15% Rule | Feedback Guidelines: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/build-robust-relationships-carole-robin• T-group weekends at Stanford: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/experience/learning/leadership/interpersonal-dynamics/facilitation-training-program/intro-tgroup• DBT skill DEAR MAN: https://www.therapistaid.com/therapy-worksheet/dbt-dear-man• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22838-dialectical-behavior-therapy-dbt• Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor (Product at Figma): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/vision-conviction-hype-mihika-kapoor• Stewart Butterfield on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/butterfield/• How to fire people with grace, work through fear, and nurture innovation | Matt Mochary (CEO coach): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-fire-people-with-grace-work• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509• Radical Candor: From theory to practice with author Kim Scott: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice• Jonny Miller's Nervous System Mastery course: https://nsmastery.com/lenny• Managing nerves, anxiety, and burnout | Jonny Miller (Nervous System Mastery): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/managing-nerves-anxiety-and-burnout• The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success: https://www.amazon.com/15-Commitments-Conscious-Leadership-Sustainable-ebook/dp/B00R3MHWUE• Break Point on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81569920• Living on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81582076• Wimbledon tennis: https://www.wimbledon.com• Wenshan Baozhong tea: https://redblossomtea.com/products/wenshan-baozhong?variant=31629962820• Tea From Taiwan: https://www.teafromtaiwan.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

In Depth
Essential lessons for building and scaling DevTools | Dennis Pilarinos (Unblocked, Apple, Amazon, Buddybuild, Microsoft)

In Depth

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2024 58:50


Dennis Pilarinos is the founder and CEO at Unblocked, a developer tool that lets you talk to your codebase. In 2018, Dennis' first company, Buddybuild, was acquired by Apple, and he was subsequently appointed Director of Development Technologies. Before that, Dennis was a Senior Director at AWS and a Director at Microsoft. — In today's episode, we discuss: Lessons on culture and product from Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft Building and scaling DevTools Finding product market fit and monetizing it Why AI is complicating product market fit How Dennis prioritizes mental health as a founder The common mistake people make when hiring — Referenced: Apple's acquisition of Buddybuild: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/02/apple-agrees-to-buy-buddybuild.html AWS: https://aws.amazon.com Bitbucket: https://bitbucket.org Confluence: https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence GitHub: https://github.com GitLab: https://gitlab.com Looker: https://looker.com Microsoft Azure: https://azure.microsoft.com Stewart Butterfield: https://www.linkedin.com/in/butterfield/ Stripe: https://stripe.com Twilio: https://twilio.com Unblocked: https://getunblocked.com/ — Where to find Dennis Pilarinos: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennispi Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/dennispilarinos — Where to find Brett Berson: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson — Where to find First Round Capital: Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast — Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:18) Why building for developers is different (07:28) Buddybuild's origin story (10:40) Early signs of product market fit (12:22) Managing mental health as a second-time founder (21:09) Building and scaling Unblocked (29:52) Dennis' cautious take on AI (34:20) Being customer-obsessed (35:25) Unblocked's decision-making process (38:31) Don't over-index on competency when hiring (43:36) Why great product is everything (45:41) Monetizing product market fit (48:21) The power of positioning (51:48) Why Dennis doesn't do demos (54:45) How to deal with customer feedback (57:29) Stewart Butterfield's impact on Dennis

Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News
Several People Are Talking

Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2024 38:02


At its core, Slack is a chat app. Every day, millions of people use it to communicate, share files, and gossip with coworkers or friend groups in one organized place. That style of free-flowing interaction—which Slack didn't invent, but made mainstream—has changed the way we talk to each other online for better and for worse. It's brought us closer together and enabled global collaboration, but it's also allowed conversations to follow us anywhere … like when you get a notification at 10 pm that your boss has sent you a DM.This week, MIT Technology Review editor in chief Mat Honan joins the show to chronicle the history of Slack as the software suit turns 10 years old. We dig into how it helped our work lives bleed into our personal time, and how the company is faring under the auspices of Salesforce and against its competitors.Show Notes:Read Mat's 2014 story about Slack founder Stewart Butterfield and his boring startup. Here's Lauren's story about the Slack soft return and other office hacks you might want to use. Listen to the episode of WIRED's Have A Nice Future podcast with former Slack CEO Lidiane Jones.Recommendations:Mat recommends Airtags and the ChatGPT sticker bot. Mike recommends the Raw Impressions podcast with Lou and Adelle Barlow. Lauren recommends using the soft return in Slack. Mat Honan can be found on social media @mat. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

The Daily Standup
How Product Managers Can Master the Art of Communication?

The Daily Standup

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2023 9:04


How Product Managers Can Master the Art of Communication? The Crucial Role of Communication in Product Management Communication is the backbone of a Product Manager's responsibilities, impacting various aspects of their role: 1. Stakeholder Alignment - A PM interfaces with a multitude of stakeholders, including engineers, designers, marketing teams, and executives. The ability to articulate product vision, objectives, and progress is vital to ensure everyone is on the same page. Failure to do so can lead to misunderstandings, delays, and misalignment. Example: Consider the case of Tesla's Elon Musk. His exceptional communication skills, through mediums like Twitter and public presentations, have kept Tesla enthusiasts, investors, and the public informed about the company's vision, progress, and challenges. 2. Requirement Gathering - To build a successful product, a PM needs to gather and document requirements from various sources, including customers, internal teams, and market research. Clear and concise communication ensures that these requirements are accurately captured and understood. Example: Amazon's Jeff Bezos mandated an empty chair in meetings, symbolizing the absent customer. This practice reinforced the importance of customer-centric communication and decision-making in the company. 3. Prioritization and Roadmapping - A Product Manager must prioritize features and create a product roadmap. Effective communication helps in justifying these decisions to the team and stakeholders, aligning everyone with the product's strategic direction. Example: Spotify's Daniel Ek has excelled in communicating their vision to prioritize user-centric features. This has led to a constant stream of innovations in the music streaming service, keeping them ahead in a competitive market. 4. Cross-Functional Collaboration - In a dynamic environment, a PM collaborates with cross-functional teams, often with varying priorities and perspectives. Clear communication fosters collaboration, minimizes conflicts, and helps in achieving product goals. Example: Slack's Stewart Butterfield promoted transparency and open communication, allowing teams to work together efficiently, resulting in the development of a popular team collaboration tool. A Structured Approach to Mastering Communication for Product Managers To shine in their role, Product Managers can adopt a structured approach to communication. Here's a step-by-step guide: 1. Understand Your Audience - The first step is to understand who you are communicating with. Tailor your message to the level of detail and terminology that your audience will understand. Engineers may require technical details, while executives may need a high-level overview. Example: Steve Jobs was known for his ability to simplify complex technological concepts when presenting new Apple products to the general public, making them accessible and exciting. 2. Craft a Clear Narrative - Create a compelling narrative around your product, emphasizing its value proposition, benefits, and unique selling points. A well-structured story captivates your audience and makes the message memorable. Example: The late Tony Hsieh of Zappos was a master at storytelling, making customers and employees feel part of a larger narrative about delivering happiness through exceptional service. 3. Actively Listen - Communication is not just about talking but also about listening. Pay attention to feedback and questions from your team and stakeholders. Listening actively helps you refine your message and address concerns. How to connect with AgileDad: - [website] https://www.agiledad.com/ - [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/ - [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/ - [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Go To Market Grit
Former CEO and Co-Founder of Zillow, Spencer Rascoff: Real Estate Voyeurism

Go To Market Grit

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2023 71:22


Guest: Spencer Rascoff, co-founder and former CEO of Zillow + co-founder and general partner at 75 & Sunny When terrorists attacked the US on 9/11, Hotwire co-founder Spencer Rascoff and his colleagues had to put their own trauma aside and “spring into action” — the travel site had sold tens of millions of dollars' worth of non-refundable flights and hotel rooms and customers who wouldn't be traveling wanted their money back. Now a visiting professor at Harvard Business School, Spencer teaches this case to his students because this dilemma was not unique to 2001: “What the hell do you do when you're running a company ... and all of a sudden, a pandemic happens? Or SVB shuts down?”In this episode, Spencer and Joubin discuss Zestimates, context switching, Tom Brady, reinvention, Shaq, the live music business, beating pain, personal connection to tragedies, the structure of rounds, Juul, the qualities of success, Stewart Butterfield, Travis Kalanick, second homes, two-way doors, overstating risk, “Dad, I Have a Question,” management by walking around, and Carl Eschenbach.In this episode, we cover: Spencer's post-Zillow life (00:57) From player to coach (03:47) “The Forrest Gump of technology” (08:21) Joseph Rascoff and the Rolling Stones (10:56) Teaching grit to kids (14:43) Spencer's brother (18:55) Channeling pain into achievement (21:35) Co-founding Hotwire (24:37) The impact of 9/11 (27:51) Re-capitalization and selling to Expedia (35:17) “Let's build a real estate website” (38:05) Office Hours and founder-product fit (45:12) How Pacaso works (53:22) Career mirrors and leaving big companies (57:01) Staying organized (01:04:20) Dinner with the family (01:07:43) What “grit” means to him (01:09:14) Links: Connect with Spencer 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

Forbes India Daily Tech Brief Podcast
Slack CEO Lidiane Jones quits to go run Bumble as founder Whitney Wolfe Herd steps down

Forbes India Daily Tech Brief Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2023 4:06


Bumble yesterday announced that Lidiane Jones, who currently serves as chief executive at Slack, will succeed founder and current CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, on Jan. 2. Wolfe Herd will become Executive Chair at that time, the company said in a press release yesterday.  Nasdaq listed Bumble, which will report its fiscal third-quarter earnings later today, is expected to cross a billion dollars in revenue this year.  “Early in my career, I was the target of online abuse and harassment. I lived in a perpetual state of anxiety; the internet felt like the Wild West, dangerous and toxic. I knew there had to be a better way: A kinder, more respectful internet,” Herd wrote in an exclusive blog for Forbes India in March this year.  With that as the founding principle, Herd started Bumble in 2014, with a four-member team and a two-bedroom apartment, my colleague Naini Thaker wrote in her awesome piece on Bumble's India plans in July. Before Bumble, Wolfe Herd was a co-founder of Tinder, which she sued for sexual harassment, according to Forbes magazine. Bumble went public in February 2021, raising $2.15 billion in a listing that saw the company's stock soar to $76, versus the listing price of $43, before closing at $70.31. That made Wolfe Herd, who was 31 at the time, the world's youngest self-made woman billionaire, worth $1.5 billion. She owns about a fifth of the company, according to Forbes. Since then, the stock has plummeted well below the listing price and currently trades at around $13. Under Wolfe Herd's leadership, Bumble has built itself brand recognition as a dating app that is serious about women's safety online, according to the company's press release yesterday. Jones, who will take on the CEO's role, has a B.S. in computer science from University of Michigan. She's had a stellar record, which started as an intern at Apple in 2002, according to her LinkedIn profile.  She then spent close to 13 years at Microsoft, where she was Group Product Manager for Azure Machine Learning when she left for Sonos, the high-end speaker maker. She was there for close to four years, including through the company's IPO, and was VP of software product management when she left for Slack. Last year, she was named to replace Slack co-founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield, who left Salesforce in January this year. Salesforce acquired Slack in a $27.7 billion deal in 2021. Ray Wang, founder and principal analyst at Constellation Research, told TechCrunch that Jones's move to Bumble makes a lot of sense, and would be a better fit for her skillset. It's not about moving from enterprise software to a dating app product, but rather that “Slack is no longer a growth play, but an integration play for Salesforce, and Lidiane's talents are better at Bumble for turnaround and growth,” Wang told TechCrunch. When she was named CEO of Slack, Fortune Magazine, after an interview with her, described Jones as a rare Brazil-born, Latin American tech CEO. She's also a mother, according to Bumble's press release yesterday. “As a woman who has spent her career in technology, it's a gift to lean on my experience to lead a company dedicated to women and encouraging equality, integrity and kindness, all deeply personal and inspiring to me,” Jones said in the press release.

You Are Not So Smart
272 - Quit! - Annie Duke (rebroadcast)

You Are Not So Smart

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2023 62:17


I recently sat down for a live event and Q&A with the great Annie Duke to discuss her new book, Quit: The power of knowing when to walk away. This episode is the audio from that event. Quit is all about how to develop a very particular skill: how to train your brain to make it easier to know which goals and plans are worth sticking to and which are not. In Quit, Duke teaches you how to get good at quitting. Drawing on stories from elite athletes like Mount Everest climbers, founders of leading companies like Stewart Butterfield, the CEO of Slack, and top entertainers like Dave Chappelle, Duke explains why quitting is integral to success, as well as strategies for determining when to hold em, and when to fold em, that will save you time, energy, and money.• Connections• Newsletter• Annie Duke's Twitter• Annie Duke's Website• School of Thought• The Conspiracy Test• The Alliance for Decision Education• The Decision Education Podcast• Show Notes

Just Go Grind with Justin Gordon
The Perseverance of Stewart Butterfield: The Long Journey to Slack's $27.7 Billion Exit (Just Go Grind Premium Episode #13)

Just Go Grind with Justin Gordon

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2023 35:03


Written version: https://www.justgogrind.com/p/stewart-butterfield More about the Just Go Grind newsletter: Learn the tactics, strategies, and stories of world-class founders. I spend 20+ hours each week researching founders like Sam Altman, Melanie Perkins, and Patrick Collison, sharing the best insights with you every Sunday. Subscribe to the Just Go Grind newsletter: https://www.justgogrind.com/subscribe Upgrade to Just Go Grind premium and get: 4 founder deep dives each month Audio editions of the newsletter in a private podcast feed Access to a founder community and weekly office hours Upgrade to premium: https://www.justgogrind.com/upgrade 

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
The 10 traits of great PMs, how AI will impact your product, and Slack's product development process | Noah Weiss (Slack, Foursquare, Google)

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2023 85:34


Brought to you by Sidebar—Catalyze your career with a Personal Board of Directors | Superhuman—The fastest email experience ever made | Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.—Noah Weiss is Chief Product Officer at Slack, where he leads all aspects of the product organization, including the self-service SMB business, the team that launched huddles and clips, and the search and machine-learning teams. Prior to Slack, Noah served as SVP of Product at Foursquare. He started his career at Google, leading the structured data search team and working on display ads. In today's episode, we discuss:• The top 10 traits of great PMs• How “complaint storms” helped Slack teams foster empathy• How Slack's product team is approaching AI• “Comprehension desirability” and other key factors leading to Slack's success• Why you should be customer-aware but not customer-obsessed• Important areas of growth for both new PMs and senior PMsCurious to learn more about Slack? You can try Slack Pro and get 50% off using this link.—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-10-traits-of-great-pms-how-ai-will-impact-your-product-and-slacks-product-development-process/—Where to find Noah Weiss:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/noah_weiss• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahw/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Noah's background(04:22) Noah's advice on new parenthood(07:23) Lessons learned from leading product at Foursquare(11:33) Advice for working with strongly opinionated founders(14:14) Thinking of involvement on a U-shaped curve(16:53) Principles at Slack(19:32) Implementing ML, AI, and LLMs in meaningful ways(25:11) How Slack structures AI teams(26:59) Complaint storms and how they help foster empathy(30:01) Slack's approach to prioritization (32:26) How delight is baked into the DNA of Slack(34:41) How Slack thinks about competition (38:04) Building a culture that takes big bets(41:40) Rituals at Slack(44:51) How Slack unlocked new levers of growth and revived their self-serve business(52:01) Slack's early success and the factors that made them successful (58:08) Slack's pilot programs for testing new features(1:02:03) Noah's famous blog post: “The 10 Traits of Great Product Managers”(1:10:15) Book recommendations to improve your writing(1:12:30) Managing up and the importance of data fluency(1:14:54) The most important skills to improve as an early-career PM and as a senior PM(1:17:16) Lightning round—Referenced:• Emily Oster: https://emilyoster.net/• Dennis Crowley: https://denniscrowley.com/• Stewart Butterfield on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stewart• Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515• Gustav Söderström on Lenny's Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-from-scaling-spotify-the-science-of-product-taking-risky-bets-and-how-ai-is-already-impacting-the-future-of-music-gustav-soderstrom-co-president-cpo-and-cto-at-spotify/• Seth Godin: https://seths.blog/• Noah's blog post on the 10 traits of great PMs: https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/10-traits-of-great-pms-a7776cd3d9cd• Five Dangerous Myths about Product Management: https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/five-dangerous-myths-about-product-management-d1d852ed02a2• Paul Graham: http://paulgraham.com/• Ben Horowitz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Memoir-Craft-Stephen-King/dp/1982159375• On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548• Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: And Other Tough-Love Truths to Make You a Better Writer: https://www.amazon.com/Nobody-Wants-Read-Your-Tough-Love/dp/1936891492• Several Short Sentences About Writing: https://www.amazon.com/Several-Short-Sentences-About-Writing/dp/0307279413• Paige Costello on Twitter: https://twitter.com/paigenow• Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs: https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Selection-Inside-Apples-Process/dp/1250194466• The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail: https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Technologies-Management-Innovation/dp/1633691780• Radical Candor: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kim-Scott/dp/1250258405• Leadership: In Turbulent Times: https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Turbulent-Doris-Kearns-Goodwin/dp/1476795924• Succession on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/succession• The Bear on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bear-05eb6a8e-90ed-4947-8c0b-e6536cbddd5f• Nanit: https://www.nanit.com/• Snoo: https://www.happiestbaby.com/products/snoo-smart-bassinet• Uppababy: https://uppababy.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Speaking and Communicating Podcast
Nail That Pitch: Storytelling For Startups w/ Donna Griffit

Speaking and Communicating Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2023 31:12


Does your brilliant idea keep being rejected by investors? Who makes it in Silicon Valley and who doesn't?Meet Donna Griffit!Donna is a Corporate Storyteller, Pitch Alchemist for StartUps and a Best Selling Author. She takes your numbers, facts, figures, bits and bytes and puts them all through her magic filter and spins them into a golden story. Where you see data - she sees a living, breathing, captivating story with the potential to drive people to action.With an acting background and Masters In Drama Therapy from NYU, coupled with her corporate training background - Donna transferred those skills into the expert corporate storyteller that she is today. For over 18 years she has roamed the globe working with 1000+ Startups, Fortune 500 companies and Venture Capitalists. She has trained clients in over 30 countries, helping them create, edit and deliver verbal and written presentations, pitches and messages that sing. Through her guidance clients have raised almost $2bn.Donna is the author of “Sticking To My Story: The Alchemy Of Storytelling For Startups”. Following her guidance will captivate investors and give your startup the ultimate edge as she shows you how to create a pitch that leaves investors begging to be a part of your success story.Tim Draper calls her book the new bible for startup founders.Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack, "If there's one piece of advice I could go back to give myself, it is concentrating on that storytelling part, on convincing people. If you can't do that, it doesn't matter how good the product is, how good the idea was for the market; you don't have the people believing.”Key Points and Time Stamps:[00:03:28] - Global financial crises opportunities for startups[00:03:40] - What do investors look for in startups?[00:04:42] - Why some startups may resist corporate storytelling[00:05:14] - The short 2 hours it takes Donna to find your pitch deck[00:05:57] - Do investors prefer solopreneurs or teams?[00:09:00] - Signs that investors are interested in your startup[00:09:41] - What angel investors want to know before investing[00:10:49] - Relationship building in investor circles[00:11:43] - Competitor analysis for startups[00:13:49] - Is AI taking corporate storytelling jobs away?[00:16:37] - Startup elevator pitch examples[00:21:57] - How to protect your IP[00:22:53] - Presentation storytelling tips for startups[00:25:24] - How to be fully prepared for a pitch deck[00:27:42] - Getting to the heart of your storyConnect with Donna:Website: https://donnagriffit.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnaabraham/Additional Resources:“Sticking To My Story: The Alchemy Of Storytelling For Startups” by Donna GriffitConnect with me:WebsiteFacebookInstagramLeave a rating and a review:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/storytelling-for-startups-w-donna-griffit/id1614151066?i=1000618608562Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1outJRzrGKezU1YJMJAT6FYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYG8AwnBvjo

SuperPsyched with Dr. Adam Dorsay
#165 How Storytelling Helps Business | Donna Griffit

SuperPsyched with Dr. Adam Dorsay

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2023 37:47


Perhaps the most magical and hypnotic words ever uttered in sequence are, “Once Upon a time.”  Don't believe me? Let's look at one of the most successful movies ever, Star Wars. While it's not “once upon a time” verbatim, it's a theme and variation: how does Star Wars begin? Say it with me, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...” Turns out, those magical words don't just relate to works of fiction. Even when it comes to the truth, our brains are oriented to think in stories. Consider this: what are your thoughts about Kentucky Fried Chicken? I'm guessing that the results are a bit varied but very few people know the story behind the famous KFC front man. A big part of its story is this: Colonel Sanders attempted to sell his secret recipe 1,009 times and was rejected every time. Does that cause you to see the business differently? Simply put, our brains have been wired throughout the millennia to think in stories. Our  traditions, morals, and values were conveyed through stories. In this episode, I visit with a storytelling expert who has decided to use her hard-earned talents to help startups increase their likelihood of success through stories. This is a brilliant idea for any business. And that is why I'm so glad to be speaking with Donna Griffit (https://donnagriffit.com/), the author of Sticking to My Story: The Alchemy of Storytelling for Startups. Donna breaks down the importance of storytelling as it relates to businesses of all kinds and you'll hear why the founder of Slack, Stewart Butterfield and so many other luminaries are fans of her work. Listen in as Donna and I talk about storytelling and how it can help boost your business. Book link: https://amzn.to/46cSwQA This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won't affect the price you pay).

Best In Wealth - Best Practices for Real People, Investments, Retirement Planning, Money Management, Wealth Building, Financi

In 1991, I traveled to Alaska with three friends to get rich. Why? We had learned that we could make $5,000–$7,000 a month working in Alaska over the Summer. I thought I'd leave Alaska having made $25,000. I was going to be rich. I was going to get a new mountain bike, leather jackets, and 100 new CDs. My list went on. What happened? We only worked for a month and a half. I didn't get rich that summer. But how do you know if you're rich or not? What does it mean to be rich? What is your definition of rich? In this episode of Best in Wealth, I'll cover the definition(s) of rich, what rich is in terms of income, and what the three levels of wealth are according to Stewart Butterfield. Check it out! [bctt tweet="Are You Rich? What does it mean to be rich? I share how you can determine if you're rich in this episode of Best in Wealth! #wealth #retirement #investing #PersonalFinance #FinancialPlanning #RetirementPlanning #WealthManagement" username=""] Outline of This Episode [1:07] I always wanted to be rich [4:32] Does your income make you rich? [7:07] What is the definition of rich? [9:26] The three levels of wealth [13:09] Are you rich? Does your income make you rich? Where do you stand compared to the broader population? The average income in the United States is $50,000 but the median income is $70,000. For married couples, the median is $106,000. If your income is $106,000 you're smack in the middle. If you want to be in the top 10% of richest households, you need to make $212,000 annually. Do you make that much? To be in the top 1%, you need to make $570,000 a year. Would you consider yourself rich?  What if you made $300,000 but you have nothing in savings? What if your expenses equal your income? You might not be nearly as rich as someone who makes $100,000 but already has $1 million in retirement accounts. When we dig deeper, I think it's the second person who's rich. [bctt tweet="Does your income make you rich? Maybe…but maybe not. Find out what actually makes you rich in this episode of Best in Wealth! #wealth #retirement #investing #PersonalFinance #FinancialPlanning #RetirementPlanning #WealthManagement" username=""] The definition of rich According to Google, the definition of “rich” is having abundant possessions and material wealth. It can also mean something of high value or quality. But is being rich all about the money, the income, or the nest egg? I don't think so. What if you have all the money in the world but you're in poor health, and your health prevents you from living the life you want? Are you rich? I wouldn't call that rich. What if you don't have good relationships with loved ones? You have money, but you're miserable. Are you rich? Probably not. We need to think at a higher level. We need abundance in the cornerstones of wealth: Our careers, family, friends, spirituality, and health (mental and physical). If you're only making $100,000 and wish you were making more but your buckets are filled, I'd argue that you're far richer than someone who just won the lottery but doesn't have good health or relationships. The three levels of wealth Stewart Butterfield, the founder of Slack, turned into a billionaire quickly. He believes there are three levels of wealth that you need to reach. Level One: You no longer have to stress out about debt. Maybe you paid off your credit cards, student loans, etc. Level Two: This is achieved when you no longer care how much a meal at a restaurant costs. You order whatever you want. Level Three: This is reached when an individual doesn't care how much a vacation costs. They don't care about the cost of...

Product Market Fit
Ep30: Product, Platforms, & Poking the Bear; w/ April Underwood, former CPO @ Slack, and co-founder #ANGELS — Product Market Fit podcast

Product Market Fit

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2023 56:38


Join me as I speak with April Underwood, an early-stage investor with an impressive operating history at Slack, Google, and Twitter. Together, we delve into the distinctive product development styles of these tech giants, unlocking valuable insights and lessons from visionary leaders like Stewart Butterfield and Dick Costolo.  Tune in to gain insights into emerging trends in product-led growth and sales, and discover investment strategies tailored for startups. Learn how to spot exceptional founders and navigate the ever-evolving technology landscape. Don't miss out on this insightful episode packed with practical advice and industry knowledge. Tune in now! Chapters: (02:11) The Unifying thread in April's remarkable career path: insights from Silicon Valley (04:52) Exploring commonalities and differences between Google, Twitter, and Slack (08:32) Differentiating product development styles: unveiling Google, Slack, and Twitter's unique approaches (13:40) Lessons from visionary Leaders: Stewart Butterfield and Dick Costolo (17:19) Revealing the most valued leadership traits: insights from April's journey (22:39) Evolving trends in product-led growth and sales: insights from a decade of experience (25:48) Overcoming the Initial network barrier in communication products (32:17) Building a successful platform: lessons from Slack's integration strategy (38:07) Navigating competition between Microsoft and Slack (41:11) Investing insights: balancing conviction and fundamentals in startup investments (44:19) Spotting early exceptional founders: traits to look for (46:40) Informed AI investments amidst trendy tech categories (48:50) Working with an operator-investor: pros and cons for founders (52:37) Fundraising tips for early-stage founders: navigating pitfalls Guest Contact Info: https://twitter.com/aunder linkedin.com/in/aprilunderwood Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by ⁠grwth.co⁠. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to ⁠grwth.co⁠. Get in touch with Mosheh: ⁠linkedin.com/in/moshehp ⁠⁠twitter.com/MoshehP ⁠⁠hello@pmfpod.com ⁠⁠www.pmfpod.com

Odd Lots
Slack Founder Stewart Butterfield on AI, Software, and the End of the Tech Boom

Odd Lots

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2023 44:40


Stewart Butterfield has been at the forefront of two epochal turning points for tech. First, he was the co-founder of the photo sharing site Flickr, that was one of the defining brands of the so-called Web 2.0 and the world of user-generated content. Several years after that, he co-founded Slack, one of the big winners of the software-as-a-service wars, changing how people work and how companies operate. Now we're at another turning point for the tech industry. Layoffs have occurred across the space and AI is putting traditional business models into doubt. On this episode, we speak with Butterfield about his experiences and what he sees coming next for tech.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Screaming in the Cloud
Remote Versus Local Development with Mike Brevoort

Screaming in the Cloud

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2023 36:51


Mike Brevoort, Chief Product Officer at Gitpod, joins Corey on Screaming in the Cloud to discuss all the intricacies of remote development and how Gitpod is simplifying the process. Mike explains why he feels the infinite resources cloud provides can be overlooked when discussing remote versus local development environments, and how simplifying build abstractions is a fantastic goal, but that focusing on the tools you use in a build abstraction in the meantime can be valuable. Corey and Mike also dive into the security concerns that come with remote development, and Mike reveals the upcoming plans for Gitpod's local conference environment, CDE Universe. About MikeMike has a passion for empowering people to be creative and work together more effectively. He is the Chief Product Officer at Gitpod striving to remove the friction and drudgery from software development through Cloud Developer Environments. He spent the previous four years at Slack where he created Workflow Builder and “Platform 2.0” after his company Missions was acquired by Slack in 2018. Mike lives in Denver, Colorado and enjoys cycling, hiking and being outdoors.Links Referenced: Gitpod: https://www.gitpod.io/ CDE Universe: https://cdeuniverse.com/ TranscriptAnnouncer: Hello, and welcome to Screaming in the Cloud with your host, Chief Cloud Economist at The Duckbill Group, Corey Quinn. This weekly show features conversations with people doing interesting work in the world of cloud, thoughtful commentary on the state of the technical world, and ridiculous titles for which Corey refuses to apologize. This is Screaming in the Cloud.Corey: It's easy to **BEEP** up on AWS. Especially when you're managing your cloud environment on your own!Mission Cloud un **BEEP**s your apps and servers. Whatever you need in AWS, we can do it. Head to missioncloud.com for the AWS expertise you need. Corey: Have you listened to the new season of Traceroute yet? Traceroute is a tech podcast that peels back the layers of the stack to tell the real, human stories about how the inner workings of our digital world affect our lives in ways you may have never thought of before. Listen and follow Traceroute on your favorite platform, or learn more about Traceroute at origins.dev. My thanks to them for sponsoring this ridiculous podcast. Corey: Welcome to Screaming in the Cloud, I'm Corey Quinn. I have had loud, angry, and admittedly at times uninformed opinions about so many things over the past few years, but something that predates that a lot is my impression on the idea of using remote systems for development work as opposed to doing local dev, and that extends to build and the rest. And my guest today here to argue with me about some of it—or agree; we'll find out—is Mike Brevoort, Chief Product Officer at Gitpod, which I will henceforth be mispronouncing as JIT-pod because that is the type of jerk I am. Mike, thank you for joining me.Mike: Thank you for insulting my company. I appreciate it.Corey: No, by all means, it's what we do here.Mike: [laugh].Corey: So, you clearly have opinions on the idea of remote versus local development that—I am using the word remote development; I know you folks like to use the word cloud, in place of remote, but I'm curious to figure out is, is that just the zeitgeist that has shifted? Do you have a belief that it should be in particular places, done in certain ways, et cetera? Where do your opinion on this start and stop?Mike: I think that—I mean, remote is accurate, an accurate description. I don't like to emphasize the word remote because I don't think it's important that it's remote or local. I think that the term cloud connotes different values around the elasticity of environments and the resources that are more than what you might have on your local machine versus a remote machine. It's not so much whether the one machine is local or remote as much of it is that there are infinite numbers of resources that you can develop across in the cloud. That's why we tend to prefer our cloud development environments.Corey: From my perspective, I've been spending too many years now living in basically hotels and airports. And when I was doing that, for a long time, the only computer I bring with me has been my iPad Pro. That used to be a little bit on the challenging side and these days, that's gotten capable enough where it's no longer interesting in isolation. But there's no local development environment that is worth basically anything on that. So, I've been SSHing into things and using VI as my development environment for many years.When I started off as a grumpy Unix sysadmin, there was something reassuring about the latest state of whatever it is I'm working on lives in a data center somewhere rather than on a laptop, I'm about to leave behind a coffee shop because I'm careless. So, there's a definite value and sense that I am doing something virtuous, historically. But it didn't occur to me till I started talking to people about this, just how contentious the idea was. People would love to ask all kinds of fun objections to this where it was, “Oh, well, what about when you're on a plane and need to do work?” It's, well, I spend an awful lot of time on planes and that is not a limiting factor in me writing the terrible nonsense that I will charitably called code, in my case. I just don't find that that idea holds up anywhere. The world has become so increasingly interconnected that that seems unlikely. But I do live in San Francisco, so here, every internet is generally pretty decent; not every place is. What are your thoughts?Mike: I agree. I mean, I think one thing is, I would just like not to think about it, whether I can or can't develop because I'm connected or not. And I think that we tend to be in a world where that is moreso the case. And I think a lot of times when you're not connected, you become reconnected soon, like if your connection is not reliable or if you're going in and out of connectivity issues. And when you're trying to work on a local laptop and you're connecting and disconnecting, it's not like we develop these days, and everything is just isolated on our local laptop, especially we talk about cloud a lot on this podcast and a lot of apps now go way beyond just I'm running a process on my machine and I'm connecting to data on my machine.There are local emulators you could use for some of these services, but most of them are inferior. And if you're using SQS or using any other, like, cloud-based service, you're usually, as a developer, connecting to some version of that and if you're disconnected anyway, you're not productive either. And so, I find that it's just like an irrelevant conversation in this new world. And that the way we've developed traditionally has not followed along with this view of I need to pile everything in on my laptop, to be able to develop and be productive has not, like, followed along with the trend that moved into the cloud.Corey: Right. The big problem for a long time has been, how do I make this Mac or Windows laptop look a lot like Linux EC2 instance? And there have been a bunch of challenges and incompatibility issues and the rest, and from my perspective, I like to develop in an environment that at least vaguely resembles the production environment it's going to run in, which in AWS's case, of course, comes down to expensive. Bu-dum-tss.Mike: Yeah, it's a really big challenge. It's been a challenge, right? When you've worked with coworkers that were on a Windows machine and you were on a Mac machine, and you had the one person on their Linux machine forever, and we all struggled with trying to mimic these development environments that were representative, ultimately, of what we would run in production. And if you're counting costs, we can count the cost of those cloud resources, we can count the cost of those laptops, but we also need to count the cost of the people who are using those laptops and how inefficient and how much churn they have, and how… I don't know, there was for years of my career, someone would show up every morning to the stand-up meeting and say, it's like, “Well, I wasted all afternoon yesterday trying to work out my, you know, issues with my development environment.” And it's, like, “I hope I get that sorted out later today and I hope someone can help me.”And so, I think cost is one thing. I think that there's a lot of inconsistencies that lead to a lot of inefficiencies and churn. And I think that, regardless of where you're developing, the more that you can make your environments more consistent and sound, not for you, but for your own team and have those be more representative of what you are running in production, the better.Corey: We should disambiguate here because I fear this is one of the areas where my use case tends to veer off into the trees, which is I tend to operate largely in isolation, from a development point of view. I build small, micro things that wind up doing one thing, poorly. And that is, like, what I do is a proof of concept, or to be funny, or to kick the tires on a new technology. I'll also run a bunch of random things I find off of JIF-ub—yes, that's how I pronounce GitHub. And that's great, but it also feels like I'm learning as a result, every stack, and every language, in every various version that it has, and very few of the cloud development environments that I've seen, really seems to cater to the idea that simultaneously, I want to have certain affordances in my shell environment set up the way that I want them, tab complete this particular suite of tools generically across the board, but then reset to that baseline and go in a bunch of different directions of, today, it's Python in this version and tomorrow, it's Node in this other version, and three, what is a Typescript anyway, and so on and so forth.It feels like it's either, in most cases, you either get this generic, one-size-fits-everyone in this company, for this project, approach, or it's, here's a very baseline untuned thing that does not have any of your dependencies installed. Start from scratch every time. And it's like, feels like there are two paths, and they both suck. Where are you folks at these days on that spectrum?Mike: Yeah, I think that, you know, one, if you do all of that development across all these different libraries and technology stacks and you're downloading all these repos from JIF-hub—I say it right—and you're experimenting, you tend to have a lot of just collision of things. Like if you're using Python, it's, like, really a pain to maintain isolation across projects and not have—like, your environment is, like, one big bucket of things on your laptop and it's very easy to get that into a state where things aren't working, and then you're struggling. There's no big reset on your laptop. I mean, there is but it takes—it's a full reset of everything that you have.And I think the thing that's interesting to me about cloud development environments is I could spin one of these up, I could trash it to all hell and just throw it away and get another one. And I could get another one of those at a base of which has been tuned for whatever project or technology I'm working on. So, I could take—you know, do the effort to pre-setup environments, one that is set up with all of my, like, Python tooling, and another one that's set up with all my, like, Go or Rust tooling, or our front-end development, even as a base repo for what I tend to do or might tend to experiment with. What we find is that, whether you're working alone or you're working with coworkers, that setting up a project and all the resources and the modules and the libraries and the dependencies that you have, like, someone has to do that work to wire that up together and the fact that you could just get an environment and get another one and another one, we use this analogy of, like, tissue boxes where, like, you should just be able to pull a new dev environment out of a tissue box and use it and throw it away and pull as many tissues out of the box as you want. And they should be, like, cheap and ephemeral because—and they shouldn't be long-lived because they shouldn't be able to drift.And whether you're working alone or you're working in a team, it's the same value. The fact that, like, I could pull on these out, I have it. I'm confident in it of what I got. Like for example, ideally, you would just start a dev environment, it's available instantly, and you're ready to code. You're in this project with—and maybe it's a project you've never developed on. Maybe it's an open-source project.This is where I think it really improves the sort of equitability of being able to develop, whether it's in open-source, whether it's inner-source in companies, being able to approach any project with a click of a button and get the same environment that the tech lead on the project who started it five years ago has, and then I don't need to worry about that and I get the same environment. And I think that's the value. And so, whether you're individual or you're on a team, you want to be able to experiment and thrash and do things and be able to throw it away and start over again, and not have to—like for example, maybe you're doing that on your machine and you're working on this thing and then you actually have to do some real work, and then now that you've done something that conflicts with the thing that you're working on and you're just kind of caught in this tangled mess, where it's like, you should just be able to leave that experiment there and just go work on the thing you need to work on. And why can't you have multiples of these things at any given time?Corey: Right. One of the things I loved about EC2 dev environments has been that I can just spin stuff up and okay, great, it's time for a new project. Spin up another one and turn it off when I'm done using it—which is the lie we always tell ourselves in cloud and get charged for things we forget to turn off. But then, okay, I need an Intel box one day. Done. Great, awesome. I don't have any of those lying around here anymore but clickety, clickety, and now I do.It's nice being able to have that flexibility, but it's also sometimes disconcerting when I'm trying to figure out what machine I was on when I was building things and the rest, and having unified stories around this becomes super helpful. I'm also finding that my overpowered desktop is far more cost-efficient when I need to compile something challenging, as opposed to finding a big, beefy, EC2 box for that thing as well. So, much of the time, what my remote system is doing is sitting there bored. Even when I'm developing on it, it doesn't take a lot of modern computer resources to basically handle a text editor. Unless it's Emacs, in which case, that's neither here nor there.Mike: [laugh]. I think that the thing that becomes costly, especially when using cloud development environments, is when you have to continue to run them even when you're not using them for the sake of convenience because you're not done with it, you're in the middle of doing some work and it still has to run or you forget to shut it off. If you are going to just spin up a really beefy EC2 instance for an hour to do that big compile and it costs you 78 cents. That's one thing. I mean, I guess that adds up over time and yes, if you've already bought that Mac Studio that's sitting under your desk, humming, it's going to be more cost-efficient to use that thing.But there's, like, an element of convenience here that, like, what if I haven't bought the Mac Studio, but I still need to do that big beefy compilation? And maybe it's not on a project I work on every single day; maybe it's the one that I'm just trying to help out with or just starting to contribute to. And so, I think that we need to get better about, and something that we're very focused on at JIT-pod, is—Gitpod—is—Corey: [laugh]. I'm going to get you in trouble at this rate.Mike: —[laugh]—is really to optimize that underlying runtime environment so that we can optimize the resources that you're using only when you're using it, but also provide a great user experience. Which is, for me, as someone who's responsible for the product at Gitpod, the thing I want to get to is that you never have to think about a machine. You're not thinking about this dev environment as something that lives somewhere, that you're paying for, that there's a meter spinning that if you forget it, that you're like, ah, it's going to cost me a lot of money, that I have to worry about ever losing it. And really, I just want to be able to get a new environment, have one, use it, come back to it when I need it, have it not cost me a lot of money, and be able to have five or ten of those at a time because I'm not as worried about what it's going to cost me. And I'm sure it'll cost something, but the convenience factor of being able to get one instantly and have it and not have to worry about it ultimately saves me a lot of time and aggravation and improves my ability to focus and get work done.And right now, we're still in this mode where we're still thinking about, is it on my laptop? Is it remote? Is it on this EC2 instance or that EC2 instance? Or is this thing started or stopped? And I think we need to move beyond that and be able to just think of these things as development environments that I use and need and they're there when I want to, when I need to work on them, and I don't have to tend to them like cattle.Corey: Speaking of tending large things in herds—I guess that's sort of for the most tortured analogy slash segway I've come up with recently—you folks have a conference coming up soon in San Francisco. What's the deal with that? And I'll point out, it's all on-site, locally, not in the cloud. So, hmm…Mike: Yeah, so we have a local conference environment, a local conference that we're hosting in San Francisco called CDE Universe on June 1st and 2nd, and we are assembling all the thought leaders in the industry who want to get together and talk about where not just cloud development is going, but really where development is going. And so, there's us, there's a lot of companies that have done this themselves. Like, before I joined Gitpod, I was at Slack for four years and I got to see the transition of a, sort of, remote development hosted on EC2 instances transition and how that really empowered our team of hundreds of engineers to be able to contribute and like work together better, more efficiently, to run this giant app that you can't run just alone on your laptop. And so, Slack is going to be there, they're going to be talking about their transition to cloud development. The Uber team is going to be there, there's going to be some other companies.So, Nathan who's building Zed, he was the one that originally built Adam at GitHub is now building Zed, which is a new IDE, is going to be there. And I can't mention all the speakers, but there's going to be a lot of people that are really looking at how do we drive forward development and development environments. And that experience can get a lot better. So, if you're interested in that, if you're going to be in San Francisco on June 1st and 2nd and want to talk to these people, learn from them, and help us drive this vision forward for just a better development experience, come hang out with us.Corey: I'm a big fan of collaborating with folks and figuring out what tricks and tips they've picked up along the way. And this is coming from the perspective of someone who acts as a solo developer in many cases. But it always drove me a little nuts when you see people spending weeks of their lives configuring their text editor—VIM in my case because I'm no better than these people; I am one of them—and getting it all setup and dialed in. It's, how much productivity you gaining versus how much time are you spending getting there?And then when all was said and done a few years ago, I found myself switching to VS Code for most of what I do, and—because it's great—and suddenly the world's shifting on its axis again. At some point, you want to get away from focusing on productivity on an individualized basis. Now, the rules change when you're talking about large teams where everyone needs a copy of this running locally or in their dev environment, wherever happens to be, and you're right, often the first two weeks of a new software engineering job are, you're now responsible for updating the onboarding docs because it's been ten minutes since the last time someone went through it. And oh, the versions bumped again of what we would have [unintelligible 00:16:44] brew install on a Mac and suddenly everything's broken. Yay. I don't miss those days.Mike: Yeah, the new, like, ARM-based Macs came out and then you were—now all of a sudden, all your builds are broken. We hear that a lot.Corey: Oh, what I love now is that, in many cases, I'm still in a process of, okay, I'm developing locally on an ARM-based Mac and I'm deploying it to a Graviton2-based Lambda or instance, but the CI/CD builder is going to run on Intel, so it's one of those, what is going on here? Like, there's a toolchain lag of round embracing ARM as an architecture. That's mostly been taken care of as things have evolved, but it's gotten pretty amusing at some point, just as quickly that baseline architecture has shifted for some workloads. And for some companies.Mike: Yeah, and things just seem to be getting more [laugh] and more complicated not less complicated, and so I think the more that we can—Corey: Oh, you noticed?Mike: Try to simplify build abstractions [laugh], you know, the better. But I think in those cases where, I think it's actually good for people to struggle with setting up their environment sometime, with caring about the tools that they use and their experience developing. I think there has to be some ROI with that. If it's like a chronic thing that you have to continue to try to fix and make better, it's one thing, but if you spend a whole day improving the tools that you use to make you a better developer later, I think there's a ton of value in that. I think we should care a lot about the tools we use.However, that's not something we want to do every day. I mean, ultimately, I know I don't build software for the sake of building software. I want to create something. I want to create some value, some change in the world. There's some product ultimately that I'm trying to build.And, you know, early on, I've done a lot of work in my career on, like, workflow-type builders and visual builders and I had this incorrect assumption somewhere along the way—and this came around, like, sort of the maker movement, when everybody was talking about everybody should learn how to code, and I made this assumption that everybody really wants to create; everybody wants to be a creator, and if given the opportunity, they will. And I think what I finally learned is that, actually most people don't like to create. A lot of people just want to be served; like, they just want to consume and they don't want the hassle of it. Some people do, if they have the opportunity and the skillsets, too, but it's also similar to, like, if I'm a professional developer, I need to get my work done. I'm not measured on how well my local tooling is set up; I'm sort of measured on my output and the impact that I have in the organization.I tend to think about, like, chefs. If I'm a chef and I work 60 hours in a restaurant, 70 hours in a restaurant, the last thing I want to do is come home and cook myself a meal. And most of the chefs I know actually don't have really nice kitchens at home. They, like, tend to, they want other people to cook for them. And so, I think, like, there's a place in professional setting where you just need to get the work done and you don't want to worry about all the meta things and the time that you could waste on it.And so, I feel like there's a happy medium there. I think it's good for people to care about the tools that they use the environment that they develop in, to really care for that and to curate it and make it better, but there's got to be some ROI and it's got to have value to you. You have to enjoy that. Otherwise, you know, what's the point of it in the first place?Corey: One thing that I used to think about was that if you're working in regulated industries, as I tended to a fair bit, there's something very nice about not having any of the data or IP or anything like that locally. Your laptop effectively just becomes a thin client to something that's already controlled by the existing security and compliance apparatus. That's very nice, where suddenly it's all someone steals my iPad, or I drop it into the bay, it's locked, it's encrypted. Cool, I go to the store, get myself a new one, restore a backup from iCloud, and I'm up and running again in a very short period of time as if nothing had ever changed. Whereas when I was doing a lot of local development and had bad hard drive issues in the earlier part of my career, well, there goes that month.Mike: Yeah, it's a really good point. I think that we're all walking around with these laptops with really sensitive IP on it and that those are in bars and restaurants. And maybe your drives are encrypted, but there's a lot of additional risks, including, you know, everything that is going over the network, whether I'm on a local coffee shop, and you know, the latest vulnerability that, an update I have to do on my Mac if I'm behind. And there's actually a lot of risk and having all that just sort of thrown to the wind and spread across the world and there's a lot of value in having that in a very safe place. And what we've even found that, at Gitpod now, like, the latest product we're working on is one that we called Gitpod Dedicated, which gives you the ability to run inside your own cloud perimeter. And we're doing that on AWS first, and so we can set up and manage an installation of Gitpod inside your own AWS account.And the reason that became important to us is that a lot of companies, a lot of our customers, treat their source code as their most sensitive intellectual property. And they won't allow it to leave their perimeter, like, they may run in AWS, but they have this concept of, sort of like, our perimeter and you're either inside of that and outside of it. And I think this speaks a little bit to a blog post that you wrote a few months ago about the lagging adoption of remote development environments. I think one of those aspects is, sort of, convenience and the user experience, but the other is that you can't use them very well with your stack and all the tools and resources that you need to use if they're not running, sort of, close within your perimeter. And so, you know, we're finding that companies have this need to be able to have greater control, and now with the, sort of, trends around, like, coding assistance and generative AI and it's even the perfect storm of not only am I like sending my source code from my editor out into some [LM 00:22:36], but I also have the risk of an LM that might be compromised, that's injecting code and I'm committing on my behalf that may be introducing vulnerabilities. And so, I think, like, getting that off to a secure space that is consistent and sound and can be monitored, to be kept up-to-date, I think it has the ability to, sort of, greatly increase a customer's security posture.Corey: While we're here kicking the beehive, for lack of a better term, your support for multiple editors in Gitpod the product, I assumed that most people would go with VS Code because I tend to see it everywhere, and I couldn't help but notice that neither VI nor Emacs is one of the options, the last time I checked. What are you seeing as far as popularity contests go? And that might be a dangerous question because I'm not suggesting you alienate many of the other vendors who are available, but in the world I live in, it's pretty clear where the zeitgeist of my subculture is going.Mike: Yeah, I mean, VS Code is definitely the most popular IDE. The majority of people that use Gitpod—and especially we have a, like, a pretty heavy free usage tier—uses it in the browser, just for the convenience of having that in the browser and having many environments in the browser. We tend to find more professional developers use VS Code desktop or the JetBrains suite of IDEs.Corey: Yeah, JetBrains I'm seeing a fair bit of in a bunch of different ways and I think that's actually most of what your other options are. I feel like people have either gone down the JetBrains path or they haven't and it seems like it's very, people who are into it are really into it and people who are not are just, never touch it.Mike: Yeah, and we want to provide the options for people to use the tools that they want to use and feel comfortable on. And we also want to provide a platform for the next generation of IDEs to be able to build on and support and to be able to support this concept of cloud or remote development more natively. So, like I mentioned, Nathan Sobo at Zed, I met up with him last week—I'm in Denver; he's in Boulder—and we were talking about this and he's interested in Zed working in the browser, and he's talked about this publicly. And for us, it's really interesting because, like, IDEs working in the browser is, like, a really great convenience. It's not the perfect way to work, necessarily, in all circumstances.There's some challenges with, like, all this tab sprawl and stuff, but it gives us the opportunity, if we can make Zed work really well in for Gitpod—or anybody else building an IDE—for that to work in the browser. Ultimately what we want is that if you want to use a terminal, we want to create a great experience for you for that. And so, we're working on this ability in Gitpod to be able to effectively, like, bring your own IDE, if you're building on that, and to be able to offer it and distribute on Gitpod, to be able to create a new developer tool and make it so that anybody in their Gitpod workspace can launch that as part of their workspace, part of their tool. And we want to see developer tools and IDEs flourish on top of this platform that is cloud development because we want to give people choice. Like, at Gitpod, we're not building our own IDE anymore.The team started to. They created Theia, which was one of the original cloud, sort of, web-based IDEs that now has been handed over to the Eclipse Foundation. But we moved to VS Code because we found that that's where the ecosystem were. That's where our users were, and our customers, and what they wanted to use. But we want to expand beyond that and give people the ability to choose, not only the options that are available today but the options that should be available in the future. And we think that choice is really important.Corey: When you see people kicking the tires on Gitpod for the first time, where does the bulk of their hesitancy come from? Like, what is it where—people, in my experience, don't love to embrace change. So, it's always this thing, “This thing sucks,” is sort of the default response to anything that requires them to change their philosophy on something. So okay, great. That is a thing that happens. We'll see what people say or do. But are they basing it on anything beyond just familiarity and comfort with the old way of doing things or are there certain areas that you're finding the new customers are having a hard time wrapping their head around?Mike: There's a couple of things. I think one thing is just habit. People have habits and preferences, which are really valuable because it's the way that they've learned to be successful in their careers and the way that they expect things. Sometimes people have these preferences that are fairly well ingrained that maybe are irrational or rational. And so, one thing is just people's force of habit.And then getting used to this idea that if it's not on my laptop, it means—like what you mentioned before, it's always what-ifs of, like, “What if I'm on a plane?” Or like, “What if I'm at the airport in a hurricane?” “What if I'm on a train with a spotty internet connection?” And so, there's all these sort of what-if situations. And once people get past that and they start actually using Gitpod and trying to set their projects up, the other limiting factor we have is just connectivity.And that's, like, connectivity to the other resources that you use to develop. So, whether that's, you know, package or module repositories or that some internal services or a database that might be running behind a firewall, it's like getting connectivity to those things. And that's where the dedicated deployment model that I talked about, running inside of your perimeter on our network, they have control over, kind of helps, and that's why we're trying to overcome that. Or if you're using our SaaS product, using something like Tailscale or a more modern VPN that way. But those are the two main things.It's like familiarity, this comfort for how to work, sort of, in this new world and not having this level of comfort of, like, it's running on this thing I can hold, as well as connectivity. And then there is some cost associated with people now paying for this infrastructure they didn't have to pay for before. And I think it's a, you know, it's a mistake to say that we're going to offset the cost of laptops. Like, that shouldn't be how you justify a cloud development environment. Like—Corey: Yeah, I feel like people are not requesting under-specced laptops much these days anymore.Mike: It's just like, I want to use a good laptop; I want to use a really nice laptop with good hardware and that shouldn't be the cost. The proposition shouldn't be, it's like, “Save a thousand dollars on every developer's laptop by moving this off to the cloud.” It's really the time savings. It's the focus. It's the, you know, removing all of that drift and creating these consistent environments that are more secure, and effectively, like, automating your development environment that's the same for everybody.But that's the—I think habits are the big thing. And there is, you know, I talked about a little bit that element of, like, we still have this concept of, like, I have this environment and I start it and it's there, and I pay for it while it's there and I have to clean it up or I have to make sure it stopped. I think that still exists and it creates a lot of sort of cognitive overhead of things that I have to manage that I didn't have to manage before. And I think that we have to—Gitpod needs to be better there and so does everybody else in the industry—about removing that completely. Like, there's one of the things that I really love that I learned from, like, Stewart Butterfield when I was at Slack was, he always brought up this concept called the convenience threshold.And it was just the idea that when a certain threshold of convenience is met, people's behavior suddenly changes. And as we thought about products and, like, the availability of features, that it really drove how we thought about even how to think about you know, adoption or, like, what is the threshold, what would it take? And, like, a good example of this is even, like, the way we just use credit cards now or debit cards to pay for things all the time, where we're used to carry cash. And in the beginning, when it was kind of novel that you could use a credit card to pay for things, like even pay for gas, you always had to have cash because you didn't know if it'd be accepted. And so, you still had to have cash, you still had to have it on hand, you still had to get it from the ATM, you still have to worry about, like, what if I get there and they don't accept my cards and how much money is it going to be, so I need to make sure I have enough of it.But the convenience of having this card where I don't have to carry cash is I don't have to worry about that anymore, as long as they have money in my bank account. And it wasn't until those cards were accepted more broadly that I could actually rely on having that card and not having the cash. It's similar when it comes to cloud development environments. It needs to be more convenient than my local development environment. It needs to be—it's kind of like early—I remember when laptops became more common, I was used to developing on a desktop, and people were like, nobody's ever going to develop on a laptop, it's not powerful enough, the battery runs out, I have to you know, when I close the lid, when you open the lid, it used to take, like, five minutes before, like, it would resume an unhibernate and stuff, and it was amazing where you could just close it and open it and get back to where you were.But like, that's the case where, like, laptops weren't convenient as desktops were because they were always plugged in, powered on, you can leave them and you can effectively just come back and sit down and pick up where you left off. And so, I think that this is another moment where we need to make these cloud development environments more convenient to be able to use and ultimately better. And part of that convenience is to make it so that you don't have to think about all these parts of them of whether they're running, not running, how much they cost, whether you're going to be there [unintelligible 00:31:35] or lose their data. Like, that should be the value of it that I don't have to think about any of that stuff.Corey: So, my last question for you is, when you take a look at people who have migrated to using Gitpod, specifically from the corporate perspective, what are their realizations after the fact—I mean, assuming they still take your phone calls because that's sort of feedback of a different sort—but what have they realized has worked well? What keeps them happy and coming back and taking your calls?Mike: Yeah, our customers could focus on their business instead of focusing on all the issues that they have with configuring development environments, everything that could go wrong. And so, a good example of this is a customer they have, Quizlet, Quizlet saw a 45-point increase in developer satisfaction and a 60% reduction in incidents, and the time that it takes to onboard new engineers went down to ten minutes. So, we have some customers that we talk to that come to us and say, “It takes us 20 days to onboard an engineer because of all the access they need and everything you need to set up and credentials and things, and now we could boil that down to a button click.” And that's the thing that we tend to hear from people is that, like, they just don't have to worry about this anymore and they tend to be able to focus on their business and what the developers are actually trying to do, which is build their product.And in Quizlet's example, it was really cool to see them mention in one of the recent OpenAI announcements around GPT4 and plugins is they were one of the early customers that built GPT4 plugins, or ChatGPT, and they mentioned that they were sharing a lot of Gitpod URLs around when we reached out to congratulate them. And the thing that was great about that, for us is, like, they were talking about their business and what they were developing and how they were being successful. And we'd rather see Gitpod in your development environment just sort of disappear into the background. We'd actually like to not hear from customers because it's just working so well from them. So, that's what we found is that customers are just able to get to this point where they could just focus on their business and focus on what they're trying to develop and focus on making their customers successful and not have to worry about infrastructure for development.Corey: I think that really says it all. On some level, when you have customers who are happy with what's happening and how they're approaching this, that really is the best marketing story I can think of because you can say anything you want about it, but when customers will go out and say, “Yeah, this has made our lives better; please keep doing what you're doing,” it counts for a lot.Mike: Yeah, I agree. And that's what we're trying to do. You know, we're not trying to win, sort of, a tab versus spaces debate here around local or cloud or—I actually just want to enable customers to be able to do their work of their business and develop software better. We want to try to provide a method and a platform that's extensible and customizable and gives them all the power they need to be able to just be ready to code, to get to work as soon as they can.Corey: I really want to thank you for being so generous with your time. If people want to learn more, where's the best place for them to find you, other than at your conference in San Francisco in a few weeks?Mike: [laugh]. Yeah, thank you. I really appreciate the banter back and forth. And I hope to see you there at our conference. You should come. Consider this an invite for June 1st and 2nd in San Francisco at CDE Universe.Corey: Of course. And we will put links to this in the [show notes 00:34:53]. Thank you so much for being so generous with your time. I appreciate it.Mike: Thanks, Corey. That was really fun.Corey: Mike Brevoort, Chief Product Officer at Gitpod. I'm Cloud Economist Corey Quinn and this is Screaming in the Cloud. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave a five-star review on your podcast platform of choice, whereas if you've hated this podcast, please leave a five-star review on your podcast platform of choice, along with an angry comment detailing exactly why cloud development is not the future, but then lose your content halfway through because your hard drive crashed.Corey: If your AWS bill keeps rising and your blood pressure is doing the same, then you need The Duckbill Group. We help companies fix their AWS bill by making it smaller and less horrifying. The Duckbill Group works for you, not AWS. We tailor recommendations to your business and we get to the point. Visit duckbillgroup.com to get started.

Just Checking In
Checking in with Laura Batchelor, CNBC Senior Field Producer

Just Checking In

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2023 27:59


Today it's time to check in with tech-focused TV news–specifically, the senior field producer for CNBC in San Francisco, Laura Batchelor. In today's episode, you'll hear all about Laura's career, including how she got to San Francisco and first became a television producer. Also, Laura shares what it was like to broadcast news during quarantine, how comms pros should think about pitching stories for TV, versus print, and what it's really like to manage live TV shots when things sometimes (often?) go awry.Join technology comms pros Becky Buckman and Keyana Corliss as they cut to the heart of today's tech-news cycle and the general craziness that is high-tech corporate communications right now. With a short, not-too-serious take on the industry - with plenty of humor and irony thrown in - they'll bring you the best in the biz, across comms and media together, for one-of-a-kind insights and perspectives you won't hear anywhere else!Jump straight into:00:52 - Becoming a very senior film producer: Laura's fascinating professional journey - “So I got to work with Corey Johnson and Emily Chang and kind of really learn about the companies that are here, like the big ones, you know. Google and Facebook and Amazon.” 3:56 - Covering tech - “I mean right now it is. It is wild. I mean, there are like huge events. You know, the future of free speech could be like changed forever with Elon Musk at the helm of Twitter.”7:23 - Broadcasting news during Covid times - “So Covid was wild because being in broadcast news, like you're all always here in the studio, in the, in the control room.”11:57 - The unforgettable experiences in Laura's career - “You know, this whole collapse of FTX has been, wild to watch and trying to get a better understanding from other CEOs of crypto exchanges.”16:18 - A little news you can use: How to pitch a broadcast - “Keep it super short. TV is so quick and snappy. So like, I always think like Keyana, when you would pitch me, it would be. Three sentences max, maybe just like a few keywords. And it was so great because I was like, oooh, I'm intrigued.”21:23 - What working live TV is like - “They had Stewart Butterfield on a live interview happening on tv, and Jared Leto decided to walk up and interrupt our live interview just to say hi to Mr. Stewart Butterfield because he was an investor and wanted to say hi.”Episode resources:Laura Bachelor Twitter and Linkedin

Passion Struck with John R. Miles
Poker Legend Annie Duke on How You Get Good at Quitting EP 255

Passion Struck with John R. Miles

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2023 65:20 Transcription Available


Annie Duke, who gained expertise in quitting from her successful career as a professional poker player on the world stage, advocates for quitting things more frequently. In our interview, she delves into the science of quitting and teaches us how to overcome our obstacles and develop the ability to quit when it's necessary. We discuss her latest book: Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away. Annie Duke and I Explore How You Get Good at Quitting In our interview, Annie Duke imparts the skills necessary to become proficient at quitting. She cites examples from the experiences of accomplished individuals such as elite athletes like Mohammed Ali, leaders of major companies like Stewart Butterfield, the CEO of Slack, and successful entertainers like Dave Chappelle. Duke argues that quitting is crucial to success and offers techniques for deciding when to persevere and when to abandon a pursuit to save time, energy, and money. Full show notes and resources can be found here: https://passionstruck.com/annie-duke-on-how-you-get-good-at-quitting/  Brought to you by ZocDoc, Shopify, and Fabric. --► For information about advertisers and promo codes, go to: https://passionstruck.com/deals/  Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter or Instagram handle so we can thank you personally! --► Prefer to watch this interview: https://youtu.be/Qf9s9OypF-s --► Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel Here: https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnRMiles Want to find your purpose in life? I provide my six simple steps to achieving it - passionstruck.com/5-simple-steps-to-find-your-passion-in-life/ Want to hear my best interviews from 2022? Check out episode 233 on intentional greatness and episode 234 on intentional behavior change. ===== FOLLOW ON THE SOCIALS ===== * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passion_struck_podcast * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnrmiles.c0m  Learn more about John: https://johnrmiles.com/ 

What I Know
What I Know Best: Stewart Butterfield of Slack

What I Know

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2023 10:00


Stuart Butterfield, the CEO of Slack, has just begun his parental leave, and is also stepping back from his role leading the company he cofounded in 2009. Host Christine Lagorio-Chafkin asked him to look back at his time as CEO of Slack, to what worked really well, and what he knows best. Turns out, one of the things that helped the team at Slack during its years of hyper-fast growth was fostering a culture where debate and disagreement were welcome. Butterfield, himself, had his mind changed many times, he admits.

What I Know
Exclusive: Stewart Butterfield Takes Us Inside the Birth of Slack and Flickr

What I Know

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2023 48:35


Stewart Butterfield, the co-founder and CEO of Slack is on the cusp of 50, and on the brink of stepping down as chief executive of the extremely popular communications-for-teams software company he built. Slack has more than 18 million active daily users, and was acquired by Salesforce in 2020 for $27.7 billion. Butterfield exclusively takes host Christine Lagorio-Chafkin through his fascinating career of building games, startups, abandoning ideas, and running the fastest-growing enterprise tech company of its time.

IDEA Collider
Exploring the book “Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away” by Annie Duke

IDEA Collider

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2022 81:49


Welcome to another incredible episode of the IDEA Collider│Pharma Book Club series with your host Mike Rea. Today, Annie Duke joins us on the show to discuss her latest book, “Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away.” Annie is an Author, Professional Speaker, Decision Strategist & co-founder of The Alliance for Decision Education, a non-profit whose mission is to improve lives by empowering students through decision skills education. In the episode, Annie Duke delves into the motivation behind her latest book, “Quit,” when quitting is a valuable option rather than sticking around, grit versus willingness to quit, and Stewart's Butterfield's Quit story before founding Slack. In addition, Annie expounds on the fear of changing your mind and why most people worry about failing instead of winning. Ultimately, she delves into the Monkey & Pedestal Model, three reasons behind building the pedestal, the kill criteria & why you should have a quitting coach! Tune in for more! During this episode, you will learn about; [00:00:33] Introducing today's guest [00:01:37] What motivated Annie in writing her book Quit as opposed to Thinking in Bets that lead to decision making [00:06:40] The difference between grit & willingness to quit [00:09:27] Why eight times more people die on the descent of Mt. Everest than climbing [00:18:53] Muhammad Ali is the embodiment of showing how in one circumstance, Grit can be a virtue & in the other circumstance, a downfall [00:30:20] Stewart Butterfield's story from one of the world's greatest quitter to founding Slack [00:39:37] The fear of changing your mind & failing[00:48:36] The monkey & pedestal model [00:56:18] Three reasons behind building the pedestal [01:02:38] The kill criteria  & the idea of having a quitting coach [01:10:08] Does Annie act as a quitting coach? [01:18:51] The Reverse Sicilian concept [01:20:17] How to connect with Annie Duke Don't forget to Follow, Rate, Review, Like, and Share Mentioned BooksThinking in Bets by Annie DukeQuit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away by Annie DukeGrit by Angela DuckworthInto Thin Air by Jon Krakauer Let's Connect! Follow Alliance For Decision Education;Website: https://alliancefordecisioneducation.org/ Follow Annie Duke;Website: https://www.annieduke.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnieDukeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-duke/ More ProductsFollow Mike Rea on;Website: https://www.ideapharma.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ideapharmaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bigidea/ To listen to more amazing podcast episodes: https://podcast.ideapharma.com/

Equity
The TechCrunch Podcast - AI art? More like AI fart and other TC news

Equity

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2022 31:55


Hey, Equity family! While we're off preparing more end-of-year special episodes for you, we wanted to share an episode from our sister pod: The TechCrunch Podcast.This week Darrell Etherington talks with Taylor Hatmaker on to talk about Lensa AI and the possible ramifications for artists. Then we'll hear from some attendees at the TC sessions: Space event  And as always, Darrell breaks down the biggest stories in tech.Articles from the episode:Lensa AI, the app making ‘magic avatars,' raises red flags for artistsUPDATED: It's way too easy to trick Lensa AI into making NSFW imagesRead all of the stories from TC Sessions: SpaceOther news from the week:Meta won't let staff discuss topics like abortion, gun control and vaccines at workAmazon will give your overworked delivery driver $5 if you ask Alexa to say thank youConfirmed: Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield stepping down in JanuaryThe FTC is suing to block Microsoft from buying Activision

SuperToast by FABERNOVEL

Esta semana no The Big Ones, as mais recentes inovações e movimentos estratégicos da Neuralink, Tesla e Slack. Neuralink planeia ensaios clínicos em 2023Tesla começa entregas do camião Semi Stewart Butterfield vai deixar liderança do Slack Saiba mais sobre inovação e nova economia em supertoast.pt. 

This Week in Startups
Slack CEO departs Salesforce, Circle cancels SPAC, SBF's links with media & regulators | E1628

This Week in Startups

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2022 67:39


J+M start the show with some BREAKING NEWS: Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield is leaving Salesforce! (5:09) Then, they cover Circle canceling its SPAC (26:06), SBF's interactions with regulators and the media (40:29), and a Startup of the Day! (57:50) (0:00) Molly tees up today's news topics! (1:48) J+M catch up from the weekend (5:09) BREAKING: Slack Founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield is leaving Salesforce two years after the Slack acquisition was announced (12:49) Mixpanel - Apply for $50K in credits at https://mixpanel.com/startups (14:14) Is this a Salesforce issue or a Slack issue? Is Salesforce's Co-CEO leaving last week just a coincidence? (24:43) Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at crowdbotics.com/twist (26:06) Circle cancels its SPAC over missed regulatory deadlines (39:11) Fitbod - Get 25% off at https://fitbod.me/twist (40:29) SBF and Maxine Waters, Semafor's potential illicit funds from SBF (57:50) Startup of the Day! Loft Dynamics is building a VR helicopter flight simulator for ~95% cheaper than traditional simulators FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1

Morgans Financial Limited
Morgans AM: Tuesday, 6 December 2022

Morgans Financial Limited

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2022 5:19


US equity markets fell following a hotter-than-expected services sector activity report - Dow fell -483-points or -1.40%. Salesforce Inc dropped -7.35%, touching its lowest level in more than 2-years intra-day (US$133.36) after the company confirmed a report in The Wall Street Journal that Slack co-founder and chief executive Stewart Butterfield was leaving the company and that Lidiane Jones, who is part of the Salesforce executive team, would take over for him. The broader S&P500 shed -1.79%, with Consumer Discretionary (down -2.95%), Energy (-2.94%) and Financials (-2.50%) all falling 2.5%+ to lead all elven primary sectors lower. The Nasdaq lost -1.93%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 dropped -2.78%.

Morgans AM
Monday, 6 December 2022: US equity markets fell following a hotter-than-expected services sector activity report

Morgans AM

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2022 5:20


US equity markets fell following a hotter-than-expected services sector activity report - Dow fell -483-points or -1.40%. Salesforce Inc dropped -7.35%, touching its lowest level in more than 2-years intra-day (US$133.36) after the company confirmed a report in The Wall Street Journal that Slack co-founder and chief executive Stewart Butterfield was leaving the company and that Lidiane Jones, who is part of the Salesforce executive team, would take over for him. The broader S&P500 shed -1.79%, with Consumer Discretionary (down -2.95%), Energy (-2.94%) and Financials (-2.50%) all falling 2.5%+ to lead all elven primary sectors lower. The Nasdaq lost -1.93%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 dropped -2.78%.

OMR Podcast
OMR #533 mit Slack-Gründer Stewart Butterfield

OMR Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2022 54:15


Flickr hatte er bereits 2005 an Yahoo verkauft – für 35 Millionen US-Dollar. Im Juli 2021 folgte dann sein zweiter Exit – Slack ging für 27,7 Milliarden an Salesforce. Im OMR Podcast erzählt Unternehmer Stewart Butterfield, inwiefern ihn Videospiele inspirieren, bessere Software zu bauen, wieso er ein gutes Produkt für wichtiger empfindet als gutes Marketing und wieso er seine Kinder möglichst ohne Elektronik erzieht.

Blazing Trails
Dreamforce: Pivot Podcast Live with Kara Swisher and Stewart Butterfield

Blazing Trails

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2022 30:00


Our Dreamforce coverage continues. Today we'll hear Pivot, the award-winning podcast by Vox Media come to life with co-host Kara Swisher and Stewart Butterfield, President & CEO of Slack. Stewart shares his thoughts on the future of work, the metaverse and what's next for Slack.

World Economic Forum
Slack's CEO: These mindsets can rethink work - and save teams billions of hours

World Economic Forum

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2022 20:21


Stewart Butterfield, Slack's co-founder and CEO, shares how leaders can navigate uncertainty while helping to make their teams more effective. He shares mindsets that can drive leaders to rethink outdated incentives and everyday practices (like the classic meeting) to reboot how companies tap their teams' capabilities. He shares questions leaders can ask themselves, what he's working on as a leader and the Slack tip he can't work without.

Meet The Leader
Slack's CEO: These mindsets could reboot work - and save teams billions of hours

Meet The Leader

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2022 20:21


Stewart Butterfield, Slack's co-founder and CEO, shares how leaders can navigate uncertainty while helping to make their teams more effective. He shares mindsets that can drive leaders to rethink outdated incentives and everyday practices (like the classic meeting) to reboot how companies tap their teams' capabilities. He shares questions leaders can ask themselves, what he's working on as a leader and the Slack tip he can't work without. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Agenda Dialogues
Slack's CEO: These mindsets could reboot work - and save teams billions of hours

Agenda Dialogues

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2022 20:22


Stewart Butterfield, Slack's co-founder and CEO, shares how leaders can navigate uncertainty while helping to make their teams more effective. He shares mindsets that can drive leaders to rethink outdated incentives and everyday practices (like the classic meeting) to reboot how companies tap their teams' capabilities. He shares questions leaders can ask themselves, what he's working on as a leader and the Slack tip he can't work without. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Squawk Pod
America, Hitting the Road & Skipping the Office: Best Western & Slack CEOs 6/29/22

Squawk Pod

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2022 30:22 Very Popular


Americans are gearing up to travel this Fourth of July weekend despite higher fuel and food costs this year. Amid record-high inflation, president and CEO of Best Western Hotels and Resorts Larry Cuculic says summer travel is surging in cities like Seattle, New York, and San Francisco. Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack, joins Andrew from the Aspen Ideas Festival to discuss what impact a recession could have on employers recalling workers to the office. He says the pandemic has proved that digital infrastructure is now more important than a physical HQ. Plus, a leader of the Federal Communications Commission has issued a warning about TikTok's threat to American data security, and President of the Cleveland Fed Loretta Mester has voiced her support for a 75 basis point hike in July.  In the episode:Stewart Butterfield, @stewartJoe Kernen, @JoeSquawkBecky Quick, @BeckyQuickAndrew Ross Sorkin, @AndrewrsorkinKatie Kramer, @Kramer_Katie

Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News
The Zoomification of Slack

Gadget Lab: Weekly Tech News

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2022 33:08 Very Popular


If you work in an office, chances are you spend a lot of time on Slack. The workplace messaging platform has become an even more important tool in the work-from-home era. And it has been rolling out new stuff that's supposed to replicate the office atmosphere, online. Last year Slack introduced Huddles—a spontaneous audio room you can join right in Slack—and it quickly became became the fastest-adopted feature in Slack's history. Now the company is adding video to Huddles, inching toward becoming a full-fledged video conferencing service. This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED writers Lauren Goode and Gilad Edelman chat about the Zoomification of Slack, whether we really need another video chat app, and what this all means for how we communicate online. Show Notes Read Lauren's story about how the future of Slack looks a lot like Zoom. Read Mat Honan's 2014 WIRED profile of Slack founder Stewart Butterfield. Here's Clive Thompson's piece about how it's time for “maximum viable product.” Recommendations Gilad recommends getting a chef's pan. Lauren recommends using the Calendar chatbot in Slack. Gilad Edelman can be found on Twitter @GiladEdelman. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Money is Not Evil Podcast
Stewart Butterfield, Cofounder and CEO of Slack

Money is Not Evil Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2022 56:36


"The fundamental challenge of leadership is that of being a human being: living with an open heart and not seeing other people as instruments that can be used to your advantage or as obstacles in the way of something you want.” ⁣ Stewart Butterfield, the co-founder of Flickr and now co-founder & CEO of Slack, was interviewed by Tylon Garrett, MBA '20, for the decade's first View From The Top. During the event, Butterfield discussed his journey as a serial entrepreneur, and the learnings along the way. Slack, which now has more than 12 million active users in 150 countries around the world, is Butterfield's fourth company and reached a valuation of $1 billion within eight months.

The Keynote by CNBC Events
The Future of Hybrid Work with Slack's Stewart Butterfield

The Keynote by CNBC Events

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2022 21:26


Slack Co-Founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield on the complexities of bringing employees back to the office, the importance of flexibility, and what the workforce of the future looks like, at Slack and other companies.

My NoCode Story
#034: What we can learn about Resiliency from Stewart Butterfield #Short

My NoCode Story

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2022 13:55


Today, we'll learn about the #1 skill a founder or a freelancer needs. Resiliency! And we're going to learn about it through the lens of Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Slack. Today, of course, Slack is used by millions of users around the world. It made headlines when it got acquired by Salesforce for a whopping $27.7 billion in the summer of 2021. But it wasn't always smooth sailing for Slack, and we're going to see what we can learn from Stewart's story here. Music: RYYZN Follow me on Twitter @AyushSharma for more updates! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mynocodestory/message

Source Code
Async, not avatars: Slack's Stewart Butterfield on the future of work

Source Code

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2021 39:30


Stewart Butterfield has a lot of thoughts about how work should work. Which is not exactly surprising, given that he's the CEO of Slack, and now works for Salesforce, two companies that are at the center of the digital workplace for businesses around the world. He's seen what the shift to remote-first work has done to many companies, and how digital transformation has changed business' conception of what “work” even looks like. It all sounds a little philosophical — and maybe it is — but it's also the stuff companies everywhere are grappling with right now.But 2021 was hardly an ordinary year. The way we worked and lived will (hopefully!) not be the way we work and live forever. So what trends should we leave behind, and which should we embrace? And maybe just as important, which are going to stick around no matter how we feel? The future of work doesn't have to look like the present, but it doesn't have to look like the past either.For our last Source Code interview of the year, we asked Butterfield to look back at 2021 and ahead to 2022, to try and figure out what the future of work might look like. Will asynchronous work become the norm? Will companies and employees gain a better work-life balance? Will all our meetings move to the metaverse? How should we set up notifications, build culture, and create inclusive companies when everyone's a rectangle on a laptop screen? Butterfield has thoughts and ideas on all of it, and lessons for everyone heading into another, hopefully much less chaotic year. For more on the topics discussed in this episode:Lizzy Lawrence on TwitterCron calendarStewart Butterfield on TwitterSlack's Digital HQ explainerSlack's Frontiers newsAsync vs. sync work: How to re-evaluate meetingsWhatsApp for work: Slack is turning into a full-on messaging appSlack's Platform plan: To be ‘the central nervous system' of businesses everywhereWhy Slack's CEO says he's not worried about MicrosoftFor all the links and stories, head to Source Code's homepage.

Squawk Pod
Musk's Stock Sales; Pfizer's Covid Pill; Slack and the Newest Normal

Squawk Pod

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2021 26:31


As the specter of omicron looms large over the festive season, governments around the world are desperately trying to deploy Covid-19 booster shots in order to bolster people's protection against the more transmissible variant. Meanwhile, Pfizer is working on the first antiviral Covid-19 pill. CNBC's Meg Tirrell broke down the final analysis of Pfizer's Covid-19 pill that showed a near 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients. Companies from Lyft to Ford have had to delay and reassess return-to-office plans in recent weeks. Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman walked back an edict that employees should be back at the office by now and issued a new forecast for how long companies would delay the return. Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield also discussed the future of work, the metaverse and the company's merger with Salesforce. Plus, Apple's march to $3 Trillion and Elon Musk – on the tweets and on Time's 2021 Person of the Year.In this episode:Stewart Butterfield, @stewartMeg Tirrell, @megtirrellJoe Kernen, @JoeSquawkBecky Quick, @BeckyQuickAndrew Ross Sorkin, @andrewrsorkinKlaire Odumody, @klairemarie

The Passive Income MD Podcast
#82: The Different Levels of Wealth

The Passive Income MD Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2021 13:52


I listened to a podcast interview with Stewart Butterfield, the founder of Slack and at the end of it, the host, Guy Raz, asked Butterfield one question about his newfound wealth. “Does that eliminate stress in your life?” Raz asks. “Does that mean that everything is set, everything is taken care of?” In this podcast, I'll share with you what he believes are the three levels of wealth in the world. https://passiveincomemd.com/podcast82/

AWS - Conversations with Leaders
#88: The Value of Shared Purpose | Stewart Butterfield, CEO, Slack

AWS - Conversations with Leaders

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2021 22:45


Slack, known for its multi-channel communication product, experienced astounding growth in the past year. Miriam McLemore sat down with Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield to discuss how a shared purpose can drive teams to accomplish extraordinary things and how creating a culture that rewards quick and decisive action will pay off in the end.

Blazing Trails
Redefining the Future of Work - A Conversation with Jennifer Tejada and Stewart Butterfield

Blazing Trails

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2021 27:27


As employers continue to navigate the changing landscape of work, many are faced with a myriad of difficult decisions. Should employees return regularly, irregularly, or at all? What digital tools should we invest in and rely on? And how can we build an amazing workplace culture with a partial or fully remote staff?Stewart Butterfield, the CEO and co-founder of Slack, and Jennifer Tejada, the Chairperson and CEO of PagerDuty, joined Fortune Magazine's Michal Lev-Ram for a discussion about managing and leading increasingly digital teams. They share their personal experiences, recommendations for fostering meaningful, remote relationships, and the tools they use every day to stay connected.

The Orbit Shift Podcast
S01E10: Slack Co-Founder & CTO Cal Henderson & Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham discuss leadership, failure, side projects and success

The Orbit Shift Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2020 23:22


Twenty years ago, Cal Henderson was working in London while Stewart Butterfield was making a game called Game Neverending. Henderson, a big fan of the game, broke into the email server to join the internal mailing list of Butterfield's 4 person company. Eventually, Cal convinced Butterfield to hire him.  The game was not going anywhere, so they started focusing on a side project which eventually became Flickr and eventually sold to Yahoo in 2005. The two founders went back to building another gaming company called Glitch. That didn't do well either. Another side project, that helped Glitch manage their remote teams now became the core product. They called it Slack. And the rest is history.  Today Slack has a market cap of almost $15 billion. In the quarter ended April 2020, it pulled in over $200 million in revenues, growing at 49% compared to the year-ago quarter, with a gross margin of 87.3% and a stellar net retention rate of 132%.This episode of The Orbit Shift Podcast brings you a fireside chat between Cal Henderson and Girish Mathrubootham. The two talked about 

Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)
Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield on COVID and Microsoft Teams

Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2020 47:42


In this interview, we discuss COVID's impact on enterprises, including the productivity benefits and accompanying loss of socialization, how this can cause employee burnout, and what leaders can do to alleviate uncertainty. We also discuss how COVID has impacted the amount of Slack users positively and negatively and the potential challenges a hybrid model of working will present. Lastly, we discuss how people are more attracted to new features versus core improvement to the existing features, the main difference between Slack and Microsoft Teams and how they can be used together, how the demand for synchronous communication can be disruptive to people's time management and their ability to focus, among a variety of other topics.

The Startup Playbook Podcast
Ep118 – Cal Henderson (Co-founder & CTO – Slack) on pivots, product & the future

The Startup Playbook Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2020 62:44


My guest for Episode 118 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & CTO of Slack, Cal Henderson. Cal has co-founded two successful startups, with his co-founder Stewart Butterfield, from the ashes of failed video games. Initially, he co-founded photo sharing application Flickr which was acquired by Yahoo! Today he's Co-founder and CTO of Slack and looks after the technology behind the growing platform. Slack is a team collaboration and communication tool that publicly listed on NYSE in 2019 and has a market cap of $18B (as of June 2020). In this interview we discussed: Managing failure and pivotsThe challenges and opportunities of building out new categoriesDealing with competitors like MicrosoftResponsibility of products like Slack in how their products are usedWhat the future of work may look like in a post COVID world& much more Full interview below! Show notes: FlickrFlickr acquisitionSlackGlitchCal Henderson & Stewart Butterflied (Web 2.0 - 2010)RdioSlack Connect Next interview: Join our next live podcast interview with DHH, the Co-founder & CTO at BasecampDate: 7th July 2020Time: 8-9am (AEDT)Registration link: https://tinyurl.com/Ep119DHH Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don't have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player and now also available on Spotify. https://youtu.be/TpVIeP3BIVY The post Ep118 – Cal Henderson (Co-founder & CTO – Slack) on pivots, product & the future appeared first on Startup Playbook.

Stanford GSB: View From The Top
S3E2: Stewart Butterfield: Salvaging The Good

Stanford GSB: View From The Top

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2020 57:57


Born in a log cabin in British Columbia, Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield studied Philosophy in college, taught himself to code, co-founded Flickr, and then co-founded a videogame startup that evolved into Slack. Along the way, he learned a lot about innovating in the face of failure, considering all voices in decision-making, and creating a company culture that “walks the walk” when it comes to diversity. Listen to Butterfield in conversation with Tylon Garrett, MBA '20, on this View From The Top podcast episode: Stanford GSB's View From The Top is the Dean's premier speaker series. It launched in 1978 and is supported in part by the F. Kirk Brennan Speaker Series Fund. During student-led interviews and before a live audience, leaders from around the world share insights on effective leadership, their personal core values, and lessons learned throughout their career. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

a16z
a16z Podcast: Nobody Discusses Work Software Outside of Work -- and Then There's Slack

a16z

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2016 30:13


For as long as there has been software we have had this collective hope -- maybe more of a desire -- that software will make all kinds of work easier, more productive, and more creative. Spreadsheets, computer-aided design tools, digital publishing platforms, though never perfect, are examples of software that have definitely changed how we work and what is possible. Still, you find very few people enthusing about Excel over cocktails. So what is going on with Slack? The messaging app crops up in conversation at dinner parties. It's become a kind of cultural signifier of a tech savvy workforce that is always looking for better ways to connect -- inside and outside of work. In this segment of the podcast we discuss Slack with its founder Stewart Butterfield. Why Slack has resonated so well across all types of people, from engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab to dentists, and what that says about how we work today and about our ongoing quest for the perfect tools and services to get the job done. The conversation happened as part of a16z's Capital Summit. The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

The Frum Entrepreneur
14: Interview with Hillel Fuld, New Age Marketing & Personal Branding

The Frum Entrepreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2015 46:05


Interview with Hillel Fuld, CMO of Zula, blogger, networker and meat lover. In this amazing interview chock full of content you can start using today, Hillel leads us through some of his amazing adventures including interviewing Steve Wozniak and running with him to a safe room when missiles were heading towards Tel-Aviv. We also learn about the importance of self branding, networking, and how to do marketing the right way in 2015. Name: Hillel Fuld Position: CMO of http://zulaapp.com/ (Zula) Blog: http://technmarketing.com (Tech N’ Marketing) Personal Brand Site: https://about.me/hilzfuld (HilzFuld.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillelfuld (Hillel on LinkedIn) Twitter: https://twitter.com/HilzFuld (@hilzfuld) https://frumentrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Hillel-Fuld.jpg ()     People, Companies & Books Mentioned In This Episode: http://zulaapp.com/ (Zula) http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/09/zulas-mobile-first-teamwork-tool-lets-you-spend-more-time-outside-of-the-inbox/ (TechCrunch Disrupt – Winning the Audience Choice Award) http://techcrunch.com/author/mike-butcher/ (Mike Butcher) http://www.jeffpulver.com/ (Jeff Pulver) https://www.microsoftventures.com/ (Microsoft Ventures) https://slack.com/ (Slack) https://ca.linkedin.com/in/butterfield (Stewart Butterfield) http://a16z.com/ (Andreessen Horowitz) – is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm with $4.2 billion under management. https://meerkatapp.co (Meerkat) https://www.periscope.tv/ (Periscope) https://www.kby.org/ (Keren B’Yavneh) http://www1.biu.ac.il/indexE.php (Bar Ilan University) http://www.writepoint.com/wpsite/ (Write Point) https://il.linkedin.com/in/paularstern (Paula Stern) http://www.comverse.com/ (Comverse) http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Foreign_exchange_market (Forex) https://www.linkedin.com/in/zivelul (Ziv Elul) http://timehop.com/ (Timehop) http://www.jems.co.il/pc/ (JEMS) http://techcrunch.com (TechCrunch) http://mashable.com (Mashable) http://aaronzakowski.com/ ( Aaron Zakowski) http://www.rackspace.com/ (RackSpace) https://plus.google.com/+Scobleizer/posts (Robert Scoble) http://guykawasaki.com/ (Guy Kawasaki ) http://glide.me (Glide) http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Marc_Andreessen (Marc Andreessen) http://venturebeat.com/2014/08/07/a-twitter-interview-with-marc-andreessen-on-startups-wearables-and-his-next-offices/ (VentureBeat Article on the interview with Hillel and Marc) http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Steve_Wozniak (Steve Wozniak) http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Marissa_Mayer (Marissa Mayer) http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mark_Zuckerberg (Mark Zuckerberg) https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpstyles (Dennis Crowley Co-Founder/CEO of 4Square) Alyssa Milano, Actress Jeri Ryan from Star Trek https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs (Steve Jobs) Send your CV’s to Hillel at hilzfuld@gmail.com http://technmarketing.com/tech/for-the-love-of-god-stop-asking-me-to-like-your-completely-irrelevant-facebook-page/ (For the Love of God, Stop Asking Me to Like your Completely Irrelevant Facebook Page) https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredmorgenstern (Jared Morgenstern) Kol ha’omer davar beshem omro, mevi ge’ula le’olam. – First person that reads this and tweets to @frumentrepreneur the name of the Rav who said this will get a special shout out and link in a future episode! – UPDATE – Congrats to http://www.avizuber.com/ (Avi Zuber) who was the first one to get it right and post! https://www.kby.org/english/staff/?id=72 (Rav Avraham Rivlin) https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/ (Gary Vaynerchuk) http://amzn.to/1JOvPlG () http://amzn.to/1RdiJW3 () http://amzn.to/1KDrswB () Gary does have a 3rd book out, my mistake! It’s called “http://amzn.to/1RZLX5A (The Thank You Economy)“   https://frumentrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/hillel-fulders.jpg () https://frumentrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/The-greatest-level-of-charity-above.png ()  

a16z
a16z Podcast: Tools for How We Work Today

a16z

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2015 38:00


You've heard the story: Slack began as a game. But almost exactly 1 year ago today, the internal tool the team built for its own use became a team communication app that anyone (and especially enterprises) can use -- and is now one of the fastest growing ones at that. It seems like collaboration is "something software should be helping us with” Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield observes, yet it typically isn't. So what can an app like Slack tell us about how we work today, and how the nature of work will change (fewer meetings? less emails)? Butterfield is joined in this edition of the a16z podcast by a16z board partner Steven Sinofsky and a16z's Benedict Evans. The trio examines the origins of messaging and task management tools (many of which Sinofsky worked on at Microsoft) -- and how the advent of cloud-based services and mobile in particular have changed the requirements for modern workplace tools and information management. The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.