#101 CEO Google Cloud, Thomas Kurian: Competitor-Aware and Customer-Obsessed
Grit29 Aug 2022

#101 CEO Google Cloud, Thomas Kurian: Competitor-Aware and Customer-Obsessed

“When I grew up in Bangalore, I’d never seen a computer,” says Thomas Kurian. The former president of Oracle, now the CEO of Google Cloud, remembers learning how to write while sitting outside his childhood home, and doing homework by candlelight during power blackouts. He credits his “trailblazer” mother, who instilled curiosity and discipline in all her children, with helping them understand the value of education beyond doing well on the next test. Something must have stuck, because Thomas is not the only Kurian in a major leadership position in Silicon Valley; his twin brother, George, is the CEO of NetApp.

In this episode, Thomas and Joubin discuss how he accidentally got into computer programming, giving children the freedom to be curious, how to order a sandwich, leading 60 software acquisitions, knowing your own value-add, innovation through experimentation, investing in the future, and being competitor-aware and customer-obsessed.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Thomas’ childhood in India (03:45)
  • His twin brother George — the CEO of NetApp — and their trailblazing mother (07:40)
  • Nostalgia for simpler times without responsibilities (14:03)
  • Working up the ranks at Oracle, from product manager to president (21:40)
  • The Google Cloud opportunity (30:12)
  • How to succeed inside a huge organization (32:38)
  • The big difference between Oracle and Google Cloud in 2019 (39:35)
  • The “mother of God” opportunity of the cloud (42:35)
  • The advice Thomas gives to other CEOs (48:25)

Links:

Episoder(275)

ElevenLabs’ Vision for Voice Interfaces | CEO Mati Staniszewski

ElevenLabs’ Vision for Voice Interfaces | CEO Mati Staniszewski

Before AI became a buzzword, a few true believers were already building.Since early 2022, Mati Staniszewski and his team at ElevenLabs have been among them, working to create voices that “actually represent emotions.”He shares with Joubin Mirzadegan how voice AI is transforming diverse fields, from delivering personalized healthcare for different age groups to amplifying creativity in filmmaking.Guest: Mati Staniszewski, co-founder and CEO of ElevenLabsConnect with Mati StaniszewskiXLinkedIn​Connect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com​​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

27 Okt 1h 4min

95% Faster Video Production with Synthesia | Victor Riparbelli

95% Faster Video Production with Synthesia | Victor Riparbelli

What’s product-market fit like when you give people the power to do what they never thought was possible?On this rerun of Grit from April 2024, Victor Riparbelli, co-founder and CEO of Synthesia, shares how his platform gave billions a new way to create video without cameras, and explores a future where video and audio replace text as the primary way to share knowledge and content.Guests: Victor Riparbelli, CEO and co-founder of Synthesia and Josh Coyne, Partner at Kleiner PerkinsConnect with Victor RiparbelliX: https://x.com/vriparbelliLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorriparbelli/​Connect with Josh CoyneX: https://x.com/josh_coyneLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuacoyne/​Connect with JoubinX: https://x.com/JoubinmirLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

20 Okt 1h 8min

From Idea To Impact: How Gamma Is Redefining Presentations | Grant Lee

From Idea To Impact: How Gamma Is Redefining Presentations | Grant Lee

Make your product irresistible, and everything else will follow.That’s the philosophy of Grant Lee, co-founder and CEO of Gamma, an AI design platform with an 'anti-PowerPoint approach', used by over 50M people.This week on Grit, he also shares why enduring businesses aren’t one person shows, and how their deliberate hiring process shapes and strengthens company culture.Connect with Grant LeeXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

13 Okt 1h 10min

Leadership Lessons From Snowflake’s Sales & Marketing Duo | Chris Degnan and Denise Persson

Leadership Lessons From Snowflake’s Sales & Marketing Duo | Chris Degnan and Denise Persson

Scaling a business globally comes down to leaders who align teams and drive them forward together.Snowflake serves over 12,000 customers, and early executives Chris Degnan and Denise Persson share how they scaled the company while keeping the unlikely pairing of sales and marketing perfectly aligned through hypergrowth.They join Joubin Mirzadegan to share insights from their new book, Make It Snow, revealing how they built Snowflake’s ‘go-to-market engine’ and fostered a customer-first culture across every function.Guests: Chris Degnan, former CRO and advisor to the CEO at Snowflake, and Denise Persson, CMO at Snowflake.Connect with Chris Degnan LinkedIn​Connect with Denise PerssonLinkedIn​Connect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

6 Okt 1h 23min

The Man Who Builds for the Decade Ahead | Founder of Google X, Waymo, and Udacity

The Man Who Builds for the Decade Ahead | Founder of Google X, Waymo, and Udacity

What does it take to reinvent entire industries, over and over again?This week on Grit, Sebastian Thrun, the “godfather” of self-driving cars and massive open online courses, reflects on a career pushing the boundaries of technology across mobility, education, and AI.With Joubin Mirzadegan, he shares why he believes autonomous driving could become the biggest lifesaving technology in history, and how a wake-up call led him to found Udacity to truly democratize higher education.Guest: Sebastian Thrun, CEO of Stealth Startup, founder of Google X and UdacityConnect with Sebastian ThrunXLinkedIn​Connect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

29 Sep 1h 13min

How WordPress Became a Web Giant | Automattic Founder and CEO Matt Mullenweg

How WordPress Became a Web Giant | Automattic Founder and CEO Matt Mullenweg

What kind of founder builds a billion-dollar company around something anyone can use for free? Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic, joins Joubin Mirzadegan to reflect on two decades of building the platform that now powers over 43% of all websites through cycles of doubt, decline, and reinvention.He also shares how Automattic aligns employees with its mission to democratize publishing and commerce through paid sabbaticals and remote work.Guest: Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and founder and CEO of AutomatticConnect with Matt MullenwegXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

22 Sep 1h 10min

The Central Nervous System for Modern Business | Confluent CEO Jay Kreps

The Central Nervous System for Modern Business | Confluent CEO Jay Kreps

The apps and websites we use every day depend on systems most of us never see.Jay Kreps joins Joubin Mirzadegan to share how Confluent became the ‘central nervous system’ for companies like Expedia and eBay, letting them respond to business operations instantly.They also break down why the myth of AI-driven efficiency falls short, and why building truly transformative companies takes far longer than most people expect.​Guest: Jay Kreps, Co-Founder & CEO of ConfluentConnect with JayXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

15 Sep 1h 17min

Airtable’s AI Reboot with CEO Howie Liu

Airtable’s AI Reboot with CEO Howie Liu

Can a no-code giant reinvent itself in the AI-native era?This week on Grit, Airtable CEO Howie Liu shares what it means to “refound” a company, how speed comes from tearing up old playbooks, and why conversational AI is reshaping his product—and his company.Guest: Howie Liu, Co-Founder & CEO of AirtableChapters:00:00 Intro01:04 First startup & YC04:06 Salesforce acqui-hire07:31 Life-changing exit at 2211:07 Scaling too fast, layoffs14:04 Sparks vs. coasting growth19:33 Two years to launch24:04 Could AI Build It Faster?27:06 Vibe coding & AI startups36:47 Everyone can build software41:08 Refounding Airtable with AI51:04 Sprint vs. marathon58:15 Cap tables & control01:03:29 Always be hiring01:05:00 What grit meansLinks:Connect with HowieXLinkedInConnect with AirtableWebsite: airtable.comXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

8 Sep 1h 7min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
e24-podden
kommentarer-fra-aftenposten
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
finansredaksjonen
utbytte
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
pengepodden-2
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
okonomiamatorene
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
rss-markedspuls-2
rss-fa-makro
boligbobla
lederpodden
pengesnakk
rss-fri-kontantstrom