How AWS Sold Cloud to the CIA – Teresa Carlson GCI

Teresa Carlson, Founding CEO of the General Catalyst Institute, joins Molly on Sourcery to share the inside story of how she built AWS's public sector business from zero revenue and two people into a $10B global powerhouse — including the legendary CIA contract that legitimized cloud computing for the entire world.

In this conversation, Teresa pulls back the curtain on what it was really like working alongside Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy at Amazon, the brutal "no PowerPoint" writing culture, and the one-way vs. two-way door framework that shaped how she made decisions. She also draws sharp parallels between the early cloud era and today's AI explosion — explaining why she thinks AI adoption is moving faster than any technology she's ever seen, why the U.S. urgently needs an AI framework, and what startups must do to win in Washington DC.

We also get into the General Catalyst Institute's mission to give 1,000+ portfolio companies an "unfair advantage" with policymakers, the rise of commercially-oriented government under the current administration, and why founders need to ditch the flip-flops if they want to be taken seriously on Capitol Hill.

A must-watch for founders, operators, investors, and anyone interested in the intersection of AI, policy, and the future of American competitiveness.

Teresa Carlson: https://x.com/teresacarlson

Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea

Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy

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YouTube: https://youtu.be/rztfzehJHUw

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(00:00) Teresa Carlson, Founding CEO at GC Institute

(01:08) The historic Kentucky Derby win

(02:38) $10B AWS blueprint

(04:56) Converting the skeptics

(12:03) Contract that changed the trajectory of AWS

(17:05) Building a world-class team

(24:01) The scaling mantra

(29:12) Lessons from Bezos & Andy Jassy

(35:33) Why is AI scaling scaring governments?

(40:23) Surviving the AI debt trap

(44:56) Why do government deals matter?

(48:55) Founding the GC Institute

(54:49) Founders storming Capitol Hill

(59:53) The unspoken rule of DC