Grit

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

26 Des 202253min

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

19 Des 20221h 16min

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

12 Des 20221h 5min

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

5 Des 20221h 2min

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

28 Nov 202247min

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

21 Nov 20221h 12min

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

14 Nov 20221h 14min

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

7 Nov 20221h 8min