B2B General Manager of Calm, Jim Herbold: Describing ‘Unicorn Meat’

Guest: Tom Hale, CEO of OuraWhen he was growing up, Tom Hale’s family had pretty ordinary dinner-table conversations: What happened today, how was school, etc. But every day after dinner, Tom and his father would play backgammon, an experience that indirectly taught him a lot about business. Now the CEO of wearable health company Oura, he recalls that the game helped him understand risk-taking, strategy, pattern recognition, and more. Tom’s father also insisted they play for money: “If I could win 20 bucks, I could go down to the store and get something. But when I lost, I felt the sting of it. That’s the best teacher, because you’re learning the preciousness of the decisions you make.”In this episode, Tom and Joubin discuss Tom’s radio voice, games of chance and skill, vacation rentals pre- and post-Airbnb, “irritant” service fees, health tracking, the psychology of rebranding, the consumerization of healthcare, personalized medicine, the myth of the founder-hero, rowing machines, and the meaning of work.In this episode, we cover:Returning to the office (00:50)John Doerr and Macromedia (05:15)Post-dinner backgammon (08:01)Tom’s past jobs and HomeAway (11:31)Competing against private startups (16:09)How Airbnb captured demand (18:55)Being acquired by Expedia (24:26)What Oura’s smart rings do (26:13)Rebranding SurveyMonkey to Momentive (29:55)Leaving Momentive for Oura (31:54)Making the case for himself (34:59)The future of public health, data, and wearables (37:10)“Sleep is strategic” (42:32)Why Oura is an AI company (44:48)The health impact of a taxing job (47:16)Being a non-founder CEO (49:39)Working with people (53:38)What would be in a “working with Tom” doc? (54:52)Managing the psychology of a 10-year-old startup (56:48)Being there for family & colleagues (59:18)Who Oura is hiring, and what “grit” means to Tom (01:02:54)Links:Connect with TomTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

8 Touko 20231h 4min

Guest: Rachel Pike, COO at Modern TreasuryPayment operations startup Modern Treasury is not afraid to do things in “our own weird way,” says COO Rachel Pike. Its values statement is a 150 word essay, it has gone viral by writing about nerdy ACH payments minutiae, and it has an unusual rule for quarterly internal reviews: No slides. Instead, departments have to write one to two page essay, which are packaged together and then shared company-wide, and with the board. In previous jobs, Rachel laments, she and her coworkers would waste time “pushing pixels” around 50-slide decks. “It [the essay] actually takes more thinking and less hours to put together a summary of, ‘where have we been?’” she says.In this episode, Rachel and Joubin discuss the state of San Francisco, the value of tradition, hunger to learn, the Draper Fisher Jurvetson split, the opportunity cost of staying put, HIPAA and startups, two-entrepreneur households, career transition coaching, “try before you buy” hiring, learning to be remote, the downside of grasping, and fixing inequalities in compensation.In this episode, we cover:Why Rachel doesn’t like talking about herself (01:20)Job-hopping and the Bay Area (02:38)Early adopters vs. brilliant innovators (05:16)Why Rachel left academia (07:44)“I got a phD in startups” (10:24)The “nights and weekends” gig at AngelList (14:05)Describing startups to aliens (16:50)Four years at Grand Rounds (18:28)What makes Modern Treasury “modern” (21:51)How she got hired as employee #1 (24:16)Advice for wannabe early-stage startup workers (30:18)“Wonder is contagious” (32:00)“Do it right the first time” (35:09)Hacker News and other growth levers (38:20)The excitement of scaling (40:49)Advisors and quarterly planning essays (44:02)Forced prioritization (49:20)Hard feedback (51:50)The working with Rachel doc (54:19)How Modern Treasury does comp and bonuses (57:21)What’s past is prologue (59:43)Who Modern Treasury is hiring and what “Grit” means to Rachel (01:02:00)Links:Connect with RachelTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

1 Touko 20231h 4min

Guest: Ashley Kramer, CMO & CSO of GitLabOne day, when Ashley Kramer was an SVP at Alteryx, one of her direct reports hit her with a dose of reality: “She said, ‘I think you are trying to put me on a path to be you, and to have your job. I don’t want any of that.’” Now the CMO and CSO of GitLab, Kramer — who has been a perfectionist since childhood — used to hold her team to the same high bar. But as she’s learned over time, “Not everybody’s gonna have your same ambition. Not everybody’s gonna work as hard as you. It doesn’t mean they’re not good at their job. It just means different things are important to them.”In this episode, Ashley and Joubin discuss what companies get wrong in CEO interviews, “the three P’s” of company values, loosely held disasters, thinking about the future, “everybody does not want to be like me”, how GitLab does meetings, pre-speech nervousness, context switching, skip-level meetings, credibility with the customer, setting the bar too high, and Naval Ravikant.In this episode, we cover:People, Passion, and Product (04:36)Joining companies right after they IPO (07:16)Scaling questions (10:28)Job-hoppers and ambition (12:06)Parents and dinner-table conversations (16:35)Coping with perfectionism (19:17)Coaching and demotivators (21:36)Confident public speaking (26:21)How Ashley got out of engineering (32:08)Being CPO and CMO of Sisense at the same time (35:49)Representing “two constituencies” (38:54)Why Ashley has two titles again (44:59)The radical transparency of GitLab (47:20)Growing pains and becoming interim CTO (51:28)Working with founder-CEOs (56:08)Tough feedback (58:20)Personal and professional OKRs (01:01:15)Work-life balance (01:03:33)How to network (01:06:10)Who GitLab is hiring and the meaning of “Grit” (01:08:58)Links:Connect with AshleyTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

24 Huhti 20231h 11min

Guest: Jen Vescio, Chief Business Development Officer at Uber and founder of Awestruck VenturesIf you were to look at Jen Vescio’s calendar, it might look like a pack of Skittles: Every single one of her meetings is color-coded according to the Insights Color Focus system, which assigns the colors red, blue, yellow, and green based on what methods they emphasize in their work. As the chief business development officer of Uber, Jen has to work with people across that spectrum, and preps for each meeting accordingly.In this episode, Jen and Joubin discuss the pros and cons of media training, Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, “semi-pro” soccer, how to ruin your Uber rating, the “fluorescent light” journey, working at “it” companies before they were disrupted, the art and science of business development, self-awareness vs. understanding others, Sean Bratches, what is your motive?, side letter PTSD, “speed and silence are your two worst enemies,” forced time off, getting buy-in, and why “Uber is wired for trauma.”In this episode, we cover:“Dancing in the moment” (00:54)The Olympic Development Program (03:22)Jen’s parents (08:15)DJing and music in Ubers (10:40)Talking to Uber drivers (12:48)Retiring from soccer (15:04)“The big transition” (17:22)The dotcom boom and Jen’s first jobs (20:04)Innovation and disruption (22:15)Buy, build, or partner (27:24)Understanding the “color” of others (35:27)How to talk to a “double red” (38:38)Insights Color Focus and the color of companies (41:16)The Trust Quotient (46:45)The biggest deal Jen has brokered (50:17)The pressure of big deals (51:46)The $350 million deal she botched (55:14)Getting burned out on corporate jobs (58:22)Big, shiny brands like Uber (01:00:38)Mental contracts and taking time off (01:05:07)Tough feedback (01:08:24)Developing trust internally vs. externally (01:09:48)How COVID impacted Uber (01:13:08)Where Uber is hiring and what Jen thinks of when she hears the word “Grit” (01:18:16) Links:Connect with JenTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

17 Huhti 20231h 20min

Guest: Nikesh Arora, CEO and Chairman of Palo Alto NetworksNikesh Arora has been in the C-Suite for more than two decades, including a 10-year stint as Google’s chief business officer and — most recently — five years as Palo Alto Networks’ CEO. But the COVID-19 pandemic made him radically reconsider the gap between the executive floor and the rest of the company. “There was a tremendous amount of anxiety and fear and uncertainty,” he says, “and this person I was talking to says, ‘Listen, your job as a leader is to create certainty.’ [...] It’s simple: Tell your employees you have their back.” That’s why, for the past 30 months, Nikesh has been making time to virtually meet thousands of Palo Alto Networks employees on Zoom; he gets candid feedback, communicates company goals, and provides a safe space for everyone to bond.In this episode, Nikesh and Joubin discuss honest CEOs, not having a career plan, process vs. outcomes, remaining independent inside Google, organizational superpowers, understanding your competitors, “evergreen companies,” the ChatGPT disruption, integrating product and sales, blindfolded communication, Evian water, cloud vs. on-prem security, and problem solvers vs. problem representers.In this episode, we cover:Amazing people at Google (02:15)T-Motion and T-Mobile (04:05)“You cannot control the outcome” (07:36)Growing up in India (11:12)400+ rejection letters (14:38)Loving what you do (18:26)Joining Google (19:55)Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt (24:16)Relocating to “the mothership” (27:01)“He’s not Googly enough” (28:26)Profit, innovation, and paranoia (31:12)Cybersecurity and AI (34:04)SoftBank CEO Masa Son (38:54)Joining Palo Alto Networks (43:04)Hiring as home-building (47:04)“Nobody comes to work to screw up” (50:25)Product and the power of marketing (53:28)Cybersecurity “swim lanes” (56:36)M&A strategy (01:01:14)The two schools of due diligence (01:05:05)Moving past problems (01:07:42)Creating certainty for employees (01:10:59)Links:Connect with NikeshTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

10 Huhti 20231h 17min

Guests: Alex Smith and Shaun Livingston, former players for the San Francisco 49ers and Golden State Warriors“I just thought, the best of my life is behind me.” That’s what former NFL quarterback Alex Smith recalls of a devastating leg fracture in 2018 that threatened to end his football career forever. Former NBA guard Shaun Livingston suffered a similar injury early in his career, and both men were told the only way forward might be leg amputation & retirement. They endured through depression, surgeries, and painful physical therapy, and both of them found their way back to pro sports. “I hopped on a bike,” Shaun says. “’Oh, I can do this!’ All right, I hopped on a treadmill. ‘Okay, I can do this.’ You give yourself these small victories that, over time, end up adding up.”In this episode, Alex, Shaun, and Joubin discuss going pro out of high school, the pressure of expectations, talking about emotions, Joe Namath, gratitude for life, military medical care and “group suck”, the D-League, competing against yourself, losing well, “rah-rah guys,” no-look slants, Tom Brady, Kevin Garnett, and the difference between winning and losing.In this episode, we cover:Alex Smith’s background (01:15)Shaun Livingston’s background (02:07)Alex on the fear of failure (03:23)Shaun on “the opportunity of a lifetime” (07:03)Imposter syndrome and burying emotions (10:44)Anxiety as motivation (13:41)Dysfunctional early seasons (16:10)Alex and Shaun’s leg injuries (18:57)Depression vs. “small victories” (23:51)Alex’s recovery process (25:45)Shaun’s stint in the NBA Development League (29:51)Teaching yourself to walk (31:58)Steph Curry and great leadership (36:19)Pat Mahomes and the “final shot” (41:05)Tough feedback (44:32)Recharging in the off-season (47:09)Daily consistency (49:41)Who Alex and Shaun think of when they hear the word “grit” (54:05)Links:Connect with ShaunTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

3 Huhti 202355min

Guest: Andre Iguodala, forward for the Golden State WarriorsThe average professional basketball career lasts around four years. By the first time Andre Iguodala came to play for the Golden State Warriors, in 2013, he was already on year 10 in the NBA. “All I wanted to do was get somewhere where I just truly enjoy going to work every day,” he says. And on his podcast with Evan Turner, Point Forward, he doesn’t shy away from the fact that being a famous and successful player comes with trade-offs. “When you make it ... you’re lifted up, like ‘you’re here to save us all,’” he explains. “There's so many things that go on with us as athletes that people don't get a opportunity to truly understand because there's two sides.”In this episode, Andre and Joubin discuss the law of attraction, daily practice, former head coach Mark Jackson, Allen Iverson, the value of sports media, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf’s Tourette Syndrome, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the lowest point in Andre’s career, and pivoting to stay alive.In this episode, we cover:What goes through Andre’s head when the game rests on his shoulders (01:17)Enjoying work every day and playing under head coach Steve Kerr (05:31)Avoiding the newspaper, and why he started a podcast (09:59)The trauma of success and basketball as a sanctuary (14:07)Playing against LeBron James and with Steph Curry (17:59)Being addicted to success and finding joy on the court (21:24)Kevin Durant’s work ethic (25:41)Are the wins or losses more memorable? (28:30)Being a student of the game (32:02)Why Andre’s memoir is called The Sixth Man, and what changes in the playoffs (35:34)His final season in the NBA, and being a part of the tech ecosystem (42:04)The qualities of great players, and the most memorable game of his career (45:50)Links:Connect with AndreTwitterLinkedInHis podcast, Point ForwardConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

27 Maalis 202349min

Guest: Al Gore, Former Vice President and chairman of The Climate Reality ProjectAl Gore has been talking about all kinds of renewable energy for decades. The former U.S. Vice President, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and star of An Inconvenient Truth says it’s “thrilling” to see things like wind power and sustainable forestry becoming the norm. But as humanity continues its struggle against the climate crisis, he says, it’s worth remembering that political will is also a renewable resource. Effective storytellers and political organizers can overcome the entrenched political power of the oil and gas industry, and young people are flocking to work for climate-conscious companies that share their values. In this episode, Al and Joubin discuss Abraham Lincoln, Silent Spring, “father of the United Nations” Cordell Hull, downhill skiing, “pursuing a grail,” Watershed, An Inconvenient Truth, the Inflation Reduction Act, trolling Newt Gingrich, former CIA director Bob Gates, “let the glory out,” and Greta Thunberg.In this episode, we cover:Which of Al’s many accomplishments is he proudest of? (01:52)What he learned from his parents, a pioneering lawyer and a U.S. Senator — and why he decided to get into politics (05:32)Being an underdog and finding the energy to fight injustice (16:15)The distinction between work and play, and commitments of the heart (19:28)The “hidden truth about human endeavors” (28:05)Becoming a great storyteller and getting instant, actionable feedback (31:25)Al’s “close as brothers” partnership with President Bill Clinton (36:44)Accepting hardship and renewing political will (48:08)How does Al renew his own energy? (53:57)Links:Connect with AlTwitterConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

20 Maalis 20231h 1min