Greymatter

The Intelligent Marketer is a new podcast hosted by Greylock partner Mike Duboe and FERMAT CEO Rishabh Jain, about the intersection of AI, marketing, and commerce. In every episode, Mike & Rishabh talk with an expert guest about the future of artificial intelligence in marketing, and how marketers can stay ahead of the curve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Orb is on a mission to revolutionize billing infrastructure. In this episode of Greymatter, Greylock partner Saam Motamedi chats with Alvaro Morales, CEO and co-founder of Orb, a cutting-edge billing infrastructure platform designed for the next wave of SaaS and AI companies. Orb allows businesses to implement dynamic pricing models such as usage-based and hybrid systems, empowering companies like Vercel, Pinecone, and Perplexity to evolve their revenue strategies with ease.  Morales highlights how Orb’s flexibility transforms revenue workflows, especially in industries like AI and cloud infrastructure, by allowing businesses to shift pricing models without extensive re-engineering. He notes, “Pricing is about as customer-centric and product-centric as you get.” – and goes on to explain that it’s about understanding what value you provide to your customers and how to best meet them. For more great conversations like this one, please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also find a link to our YouTube channel in the description. Finally, we'd like to thank the people who helped make this podcast happen, including Elisa Schreiber and Fitz Barth. This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm. Transcript of episode: Orb: https://www.withorb.com/ Follow Greylock: Youtube, X, LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Too often, usernames and passwords are the only thing standing between cyber criminals and an organization's data. While it seems obvious, implementing stronger identity controls has historically been a challenge for organizations because the mechanisms that cut off access to threats can also impede employees’ ability to access the systems they need to do their jobs. Opal Security was founded to solve for that tension. Opal Security CEO and co-founder Umaimah Khan spoke with Greylock partner Saam Motamedi about about the company’s mission to deliver scalable least privilege from a security-first standpoint without slowing businesses down. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/security-first-identity/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest episode of Product-Led AI, hosted by Greylock partner Seth Rosenberg. In this episode, he speaks with AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman, who has been at the forefront of the technology through several major leaps forward. As the co-founder of DeepMind, Google’s VP of AI Policy and Products, the co-founder of Inflection, and now the CEO of Microsoft AI, he’s seen AI’s evolution into the transformative tech it is today. He shares his perspective on AGI, autonomous agents, and opportunities for startups. You can read a transcript of this interview at https://productledaipod.com/podcasts/defining-intelligence/ You can watch the video of this interview at https://youtu.be/cNzRviY4Ei8?si=0Drr1xNbWkkbhPJf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock partner Corinne Riley reads her essay "Code Smarter, Not Harder: Solving the Unknowns to Developing AI Engineers." Building AI tools for code generation and engineering workflows is one of the most exciting and worthy undertakings by startups today. But there are still many open questions about the technical unlocks that must be solved to make coding tools that work as well as (or better than) human engineers in a production setting. Riley explores these core questions alongside an analysis of the current ecosystem of startups developing AI coding tools. You can read the essay here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/code-smarter-not-harder/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

App-tracking rules closed the door on user-tracking and targeted ads, but AI opened up new channels of engagement and personalization that previously weren’t possible. Commerce infrastructure company Fermat ushers businesses into this new era of online retail. CEO and co-founder Rishabh Jain talks with Greylock partner Saam Motamedi about the double impact of ATT and AI on commerce, and how Fermat is helping to build the next generation of online businesses. You can read the transcript of this interview here on greylock.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audio version of the essay "The Big 4 Era: Shifting Power Dynamics in the AI-Focused Cloud" written by Greylock partners Jason Risch and Jerry Chen (read by Greylock head of editorial Heather Mack). It’s never been harder to compete with the Big 3 cloud providers. As the AI revolution has shifted NVIDIA into the central power broker of the tech ecosystem, AWS, Azure, and GCP have rushed to build their AI edge. In this “Big 4” era, What’s left for startups? At Greylock, we see ample opportunities in developer tools, infrastructure, agents, apps, security, codegen, and robotics. These observations our based on our daily work, as well as our ongoing data collection and analysis for our Castles in the Cloud project. This essay outlines those areas of opportunity, as well as those that are better suited for incumbents. You can read the essay at greylock.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest episode of Product-Led AI, a new podcast series hosted by Greylock partner Seth Rosenberg featuring conversations with leading AI builders. Adept CEO and co-founder David Luan has been riding the LLM wave since the early days of the modern AI boom: an early OpenAI employee, he led the company’s engineering team before serving as the tech lead for Google Brain’s work on LLMs. He co-founded Adept in 2022 to develop multimodal agents built to work alongside humans in any profession. Believing computers should work more like humans and not the other way around, Adept has stood out for its human-centric approach to AGI.  In this episode, David talks about the moment he realized building a new product (and a startup) was a faster track to AGI; breaks down the frameworks for Adept; and shares his view of a future where AI functions almost invisibly below all software we use.  Check out the whole series at productledaipod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest episode of Product-Led AI, the new series hosted by Greylock partner Seth Rosenberg where he chats with builders who put the power of AI into products that people love. This week, AI visionary (and fellow Greylock partner) Reid Hoffman talks with Seth about the main opportunities in the application layer of AI, with an extra deep dive on AI-powered networks and marketplaces. Having been instrumental in building and scaling several iconic networks throughout his career, Hoffman has learned the core fundamentals of building these types of businesses don't change much - they just look different, depending on the latest tech platform shift. About the series: Investor and former product builder Seth Rosenberg talks with founders about their inspiration and process to build, test, and continually reimagine how AI and humans work together. You can find more about the series at productledaipod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special guest episode of Product-Led AI, a new podcast hosted by Greylock partner Seth Rosenberg. In this series, he focuses on the central question: How do you make AI useful? While plenty of money and attention goes to large language models and GPUs, it takes a different skill set to build AI products that change the way we work, learn, and live. We’re seeing this in AI co-pilots, AI-first networks and marketplaces, and entirely reimagined software categories where AI is solving long-standing challenges in new ways. But how do they actually do it? Investor and former product builder Seth Rosenberg talks with founders about their inspiration and process to build, test, and continually reimagine how AI and humans work together. You can find more about the series at productledaipod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock general partner Jacob Andreou reads his essay on how to build valuable products during moments of technology transitions. Having previously led product and growth for one of the iconic native apps of the mobile era (Snap), Andreou developed a perspective on some of the best (and worst) strategic and tactical decisions companies can make during tech shifts. It starts by asking an important question: Are you building a novel solution to an enduring need, enabled by new technology? Using lessons learned from his hands-on experience at Snap and observations across other companies, Andreou provides a framework for evaluating your product and company to ensure you are building a transformative product and not a toy. You can read the full essay, "From Ports to Transformations: Strategies for Building Enduring Consumer Products During Tech Shifts here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/building-enduring-consumer-products-during-tech-shifts/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Building a defensible system of intelligence at a time when LLMs are becoming commoditized (and when all the classic moats like economies of scale are more important than ever) isn’t easy. But Instabase, which provides an applied AI platform for enterprise organizations to run various operational processes, has managed to accrue a large customer base and recently hit $2 billion valuation. The company has gained traction largely because they've taken cues directly from customers since day one while incorporating the latest technology advances to continually expand their product, making it useful across hundreds of different use cases for a range of industries. Greylock general partner and Instabase board member Jerry Chen spoke with Instabase CEO and founder Anant Bhardwaj about the company’s journey amid the fast-changing AI landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock general partner Jerry Chen discusses key takeaways from his essay "The New New Moats: Why Systems of Intelligence are Still the Next Defensible Business Model." The essay is a fresh take on his "New Moats" blog from 2017, in which he postulated that startups would be able to build defensible moats using AI. With the explosion of AI activity in recent times, Chen revisited this analysis to see what holds true, what he got wrong, and what is still too early to tell. You can read the 2023 essay here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/the-new-new-moats/ You can read the original 2017 essay here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/the-new-moats/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As anyone who has experimented with the latest artificial intelligence tools that generate human-like responses to text, every interaction with technology is increasingly becoming a conversation. Beyond pre-programmed responses based on specific key words, interacting with AI trained on large language models is beginning to feel like a natural back and forth dialogue. "In the future, I think there will be an ever-present relationship that you have with an AI that helps you to make sense of the world around you," says Inflection AI CEO and co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, whose company recently released Pi, or "personal AI", designed to listen, talk, and provide support like a companion. Listen to Suleyman and his Inflection co-founder Reid Hoffman on the Greymatter podcast discuss how they approached building the "AI sidekick" that is Pi, and share their vision for the future of the technology. You can read the transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/inflectionai-the-ai-friend-zone/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock general partner Jerry Chen analyzes top trends impacting funding, company creation, product launches, and partnerships throughout the cloud ecosystem for 2022 and the first part of 2023. This analysis is based on data compiled for Greylock's Castles in the Cloud project, which maps the activity of VC-backed startups as well as that of the Big 3 cloud providers AWS, Google, and Microsoft Azure. AI, an increased focus on vertical specialization, and the expansion of security needs are all fueling activity in the cloud ecosystem.  The trends in this discussion are also examined in Greylock investor Jason Risch's recent essay, which you can read here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/three-trends-in-vc-backed-cloud/ You can find the entire Castles in the Cloud project here: greylock.com/castles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audio version of Greylock investor Jason Risch's essay "Three Trends in VC-Backed Cloud." As part of our Castles in the Cloud project, which maps the activity in the venture capital-funding startup ecosystem with that of the Big 3 Cloud providers, we compile a database of fundraising at the end of each calendar year and identify trends. Although 2022 and the first part of 2023 has been marked by notable advancements in cloud technology – mostly via AI integrations – there is still considerable restraint in today’s venture capital-backed ecosystem. That figure doesn’t translate to lower activity, however. Many venture capital firms report they are just as busy as prior to the market correction, albeit with a focus on smaller checks for early-stage companies. Technological advancements, partnerships between major powerbrokers, and vertical specialization are all components of the current wave. The top three trends for this period are the rise of AI/ML in cloud, Vertical specialization (or, industry clouds), and security. You can read this essay here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/three-trends-in-vc-backed-cloud/ You can view the entire Castles in the Cloud project here: https://greylock.com/castles/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Re-broadcast of Greylock marketing partner Elisa Schreiber's interview with CNBC Senior Media & Tech reporter Julia Boorstin. While there may be plenty of discussion about the disparity between funding for women-led startups and those led by men, women still receive just 2% of all venture capital funding. And yet, many women are still finding success as entrepreneurs. How? Boorstin dug into the stories of women entrepreneurs founding, funding, and running companies, and uncovered a variety of smart tactics and approaches. Those stories and the data are shared in her book, "When Women Lead." Boorstin and Schreiber spoke in front of a live, female-majority audience in late 2022 as part of Greylock's Iconversations speaker series. You can watch a video from the interview here: youtu.be/7moBNBLIVMA You can read a transcript here: greylock.com/greymatter/julia-b…n-when-women-lead/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fintech has perhaps the most to gain from artificial intelligence technology. Even slight improvements in forecasting default rates on a loan or cash flows of a business can have a dramatic economic impact. But for the most part, fintech has been left out of the conversation – partly because there is low margin for error in a regulated space. Encouragingly, this is starting to change. Ramp, a fintech startup that is noted for being one of the fastest-growing companies ever to hit $100M in ARR, is among the fintech frontrunners using automation and machine learning to help customers with expense management, payments, reporting, and more. Greylock investor Seth Rosenberg spoke with Ramp CEO Eric Glyman and Greylock's Reid Hoffman for a wide-ranging discussion on how AI is impacting every profession today – and how there is considerable room for it to impact financial services in the future.  You can watch the video of this interview here: https://youtu.be/q5Rhetnw_64 You can read a transcript of the interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/intelligent-money/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock general partner Mike Duboe talks with Treat CEO Matt Osman, Fermat CEO Rishabh Jain, and independent analyst, consultant and investor Eric Seufert about the changing world of commerce performance marketing following the passage of ATT. For years, targeted ads meant the mechanisms to grow an ecommerce brand were relatively simple, accessible, and fast-acting. But the passage of Apple's App Tracking Transparency policy in 2021 turned that world on its head. Now, companies have gotten creative about the ways they reach their audience, which has given rise to a class of startups like Treat and Fermat that provide the tooling and platform to develop, test, and iterate marketing campaigns. You can read a transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/the-post-att-world/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman talks with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about their mutual learnings from the AI tools released to date, primarily GPT-4 4, OpenAI's language model that co-wrote Hoffman's recent book “Impromptu." Keeping up with all the AI advancements – and questioning both the pros and cons of their immediate impact – is why Hoffman wrote Impromptu. As he describes, the book is intended to act as a travelog of his experience with GPT-4. Above all, he sees AI as a human amplifier, but urges it must be developed safely. Safety is exactly what OpenAI is striving for, Altman says, and Hoffman’s detailed chronicle of his experience with GPT-4 is exactly the kind of data the organization needs to continue developing the technology with safety in mind. You can read a transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/ai-field-notes/ You can access Impromptu for free here:  https://www.impromptubook.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/impromptu-rh.pdf And on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYG9V1RN/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock general partners Saam Motamedi and Reid Hoffman talk with Umi Mehta, who is the Global Head of tech Private Equity and Venture Capital Investing at Morgan Stanley. In this conversation, they discuss the current investing environment in the context of artificial intelligence technology – specifically, its impact on pretty much every industry across enterprise and consumer sectors. AI has evolved rapidly in recent years, and that pace of advancement is only getting faster. Saam and Reid explain how AI is becoming an enabling platform technology, much the same as previous waves of tech transitions like mobile and cloud did in earlier eras. This conversation was recorded at Morgan Stanley’s annual TMT Conference, which draws an audience of more than 3,000 investors and members of tech companies. On that note, the audio quality isn’t the highest, but each speaker is clear. And if you have any difficulty hearing some of the parts, rest assured that you can find all of the conversation in the transcript here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/ais-transformative-power/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock welcomes Jacob Andreou as the firm's newest investor. Andreou joins Greylock following 8 years at Snap, where he most recently served as SVP of Growth. There, he ran teams across growth, data science, analytics, and user research, and helped scale the company to more than 360 million daily active users and $4.5 billion in revenue. At Greylock. Andreou is eager to partner with founders building the next generation of consumer products. You can read Greylock's blog post and a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/firm-news/welcome-jacob-andreou/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock general partner Asheem Chandna talks with Rubrik CEO and co-founder Bipul Sinha about a core leadership lesson he's learned: not losing sight of one's own intuition, especially during times of high growth. Today, the data security company works with more than 5,000 customers around the world and across nearly every industry. When Rubrik launched in 2014, its mission to secure the world's data resonated immediately with clients, and the company grew rapidly in the first few years. Then came a rough patch, as the company's relentless push for expansion – and the many more people involved in every decision, from hiring to product pipeline – impacted Sinha's ability to listen first to his own assessment and judgment. Recognizing this, Sinha recalibrated his approach, and Rubrik got back on track. In this discussion, he shares his strategy for collaborative decision-making without losing sight of one's own ideas. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/rubrik-scaling-with-intuition/  You can watch the video of this interview here: https://youtu.be/wIjkX2gfzmE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audio version of the introduction to Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman’s latest book, entitled “Impromptu: Amplifying Humanity Through AI." Impromptu was co-written by Hoffman and ChatGPT-4, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful large language model. The book aims to serve as a sort of “travelog” of Hoffman’s experience with GPT-4, as he explores the tool’s strengths and limitations. Through hundreds of prompts, Hoffman and GPT-4 discuss the potential advantages and drawbacks of AI, argue about human nature, conceive original sci fi plots, and even try to make a few jokes. As AI is quickly advancing, Hoffman hopes his book can serve as a guide to encourage people to learn more about the technology, consider how we might use it, and ponder the complex questions about how our choices might play out in the future. You can read the text of this chapter here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/amplifying-humanity-through-ai/ ‎ Impromptu is now available: As a free PDF: https://lnkd.in/eZSsGYgB  On Kindle: https://lnkd.in/eUE2ukM3  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special guest episode of Possible, the new podcast hosted by Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Possible looks at the future through a decidedly optimistic lens - and what it will take to get there. Each episode features a visionary from a different field, such as media, climate science, criminal justice, and more. Also joining for each episode is ChatGPT-4, OpenAI’s latest language model. GPT4 will provide a companion story to serve as a jumping off point for each discussion, which will explore what could possibly go right if we as a society work together to leverage technology effectively.  Comedian, writer, and former Daily Show host Trevor Noah joined Reid and Aria for the inaugural episode of Possible. They discuss what a world would look like if every TV show could be perfectly tailored to each viewer’s interest, knowledge level and needs. Trevor responds to a speculative story, generated by GPT-4, that paints a picture of a futuristic “AI-ly Show.” Plus, he reviews some unexpected AI-generated light bulb jokes. Is GPT-4 actually funny? Follow the Possible podcast wherever you listen here.  Read the AI-generated story for this episode here. Read the transcript of this episode here.  Read Reid Hoffman’s essay “A Co-Pilot for Every Profession” here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A re-broadcast of Greylock general partner Saam Motamedi's interview with Adept CEO and co-founder David Luan and Stanford computer science and statistics professor Percy Liang. In this conversation (recorded in mid-2022), David and Percy discuss how large language models are paving the way for the next wave of AI. Adept is developing an AI "teammate" tool that is trained to use every software tool and API for knowledge workers. The company just raised $350 million in Series B funding to further its mission. Greylock has been partnered with Adept since co-leading the Series A in 2022. You can watch the video from this interview on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/_ydBm3tADvA You can read a transcript of the conversation on our website here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/ai-language-words-into-action/ ‎ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi talks with Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman about his strategy for decision-making. Like most companies, Uber has experienced many ups and downs. Getting through each phase (good or bad), depends on how the leadership team responds, says Khosrowshahi. In difficult moments, which he refers to as "war time," it's critical to prioritize speed and quick decision-making. Conversely, during "peace time", he is more team-oriented and focused on incorporating as many viewpoints as possible. You can watch the video of this interview on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/Dn46NeZrRt0 You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/uber-dara-khosrowshahi-navigation-systems/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Instacart CEO Fidji Simo shares the company's vision for building a tech-enabled food system for all. Simo, who previously spent 10 years at Meta, is accustomed to taking bold bets on transformative tech. She spoke with Greylock general partner David Thacker about joining Instacart in 2021 following a period of significant growth; how she identifies moments in time where new technology can find traction; what she learned from leaders and mentors throughout her career; her approach to leadership; and how she separates major disruptive events from secular trends in order to chart a sustainable business course forward. You can watch the video of the interview on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/agAJbOhuNaQ You can read an essay with the highlights of the conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/whats-in-store/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A re-broadcast of Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman's interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, recorded during Greylock's Intelligent Future summit in August 2022. Founded in 2015, OpenAI has recently released several high-profile products in quick succession: succession: its generative transformer model GPT-3 – which uses deep learning to produce human-like text – its image-creation platform DALL-E – and most recently, ChatGPT. Trained on massive large language models, the highly sophisticated chatbot can mimic human conversation and speak on a wide range of topics. You can watch a video of the interview here: https://youtu.be/WHoWGNQRXb0 You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/sam-altman-ai-for-the-next-era/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Navigating uncertain economic conditions is part and parcel of running a business. Yet, throughout challenging times, it’s critical that startups stay committed to continually pushing the possibilities of what technology can deliver, says Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. That means leading with the guiding principle “micro pessimism and macro optimism.” Often, Collison says, this means having a relentless ability to be critical about the state of technology (including one’s own products) while still believing in its possibilities.That viewpoint acknowledges the structural tension companies face when trying to innovate in the context of economic reality, and can be the difference between persisting through challenging times or becoming a casualty of yet another tech boom and bust cycle. Collison joined Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman on our Iconversations speaker series to discuss Stripe’s early days and its evolution into the payment and financial services platform giant it is today, and his advice to startups for navigating the predictable unpredictability of business. You can watch the video of the interview here: https://youtu.be/rzic-FivMfc You can read the transcript here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/micro-pessimism-macro-optimism/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Of the many transformative possibilities of artificial intelligence, its potential to impact education is among the most exciting. It’s also one of the most contentious. While it could extend the reach of over-worked teachers, offer personalized curriculums, and enhance the learning experience, it could also present many drawbacks: cheating, loss of jobs, and a reliance on technology that impedes the development of critical-thinking skills. In the latest episode of Fireside Chatbots, Reid Hoffman poses questions to OpenAI's ChatGPT on the potential impact of artificial intelligence technology in educational settings. You can read a transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/ai-in-the-classroom/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Current economic conditions have put thousands of highly qualified candidates in search of new roles. In just a few months, the population of job-seekers will further expand as a wave of fresh graduates – many of whom will be taking on the first serious role of their career – enter the market. The dearth of open roles can be discouraging to any candidate, and those at the beginning of their careers may feel this even more acutely. A bright spot is early-stage startups in need of talent to build core teams, and for many, the best match may be the newest job seeker. Yuliya Mykhaylovska, who leads university recruiting for Greylock's talent team, shares how to evaluate and recruit candidates at the earliest stages of their career, and outlines how startup founders can best structure the role to allow flexibility and growth along with the company. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/starting-points/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audio version of Greylock general partner Asheem Chandna's essay for Forbes "Four Tasks for CEOs in 2023: Leveraging the Downturn." As Chandna puts forth, while economic recessions can mark the end for many otherwise promising companies, they also present opportunities. Businesses that were previously in hyper-growth mode now have time to re-asses and implement tactics they couldn't in busier times. Chandna lays out several strategies to take in this scenario. This essay was read by Greylock's head of editorial Heather Mack. You can read the essay here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/asheemchandna/2023/01/18/four-tasks-for-ceos-in-2023-leveraging-the-downturn/?sh=7494f60f56cc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The second episode of Fireside Chatbots featuring Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman and ChatGPT, the large language model created by OpenAI. This week, Reid and ChatGPT talk about the ways humans and AI can work together to significantly increase productivity, scientific discovery, analytical capabilities, and creativity. As ChatGPT says, "The jobs of the future will likely be a combination of technical and human skills, requiring individuals to be adaptable and able to work with new technologies. " You can read a transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/the-human-ai-partnership/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Figma's VP of Communications Nairi Hourdajian and Greylock marketing partner Elisa Schreiber discuss how startup founders can approach their communications strategy. Whether a startup is looking to recruit talent, acquire customers, establish thought leadership, or just raise general awareness, having a well-structured communications strategy in place is crucial. This conversation is part of Greylock's Brain Trust series. You can find a transcript of the interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/startup-storytelling/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing Fireside Chatbots, a miniseries featuring conversations not only about AI, but with AI. Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman talks with ChatGPT, a large language model created by OpenAI. Hoffman, who serves on OpenAI's board, poses questions to ChatGPT about the massive positive impact he believes AI will all facets of society. For this podcast, we used an AI-generated voice for ChatGPT, powered by the text-to-speech platform of Play.ht. The chat transcripts are exact, word for word, which Hoffman says, " show the magic and the current limitations of the technology. " You can read the transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/reid-hoffman-chatbots-talking-ai-with-ai Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tome CPO and co-founder Henri Liriani and Katy Amaya of the Greylock talent team discuss the rising importance of founding designers at startups and share best practices for building strong design teams. While past generations of startups could get away with focusing purely on the technical aspects of their product in the initial stages and bring design teams later, today's startups are living in the age following an explosion of consumer apps (and the subsequent push for consumerization of enterprise software) that has resulted in a heavy focus on the end user experience. Good design is now a critical part of a company's success. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/designed-with-purpose/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A re-broadcast of our interview with Okta executive vice chairman, COO, and co-founder Frederic Kerrest, who shares stories from his earliest days as an entrepreneur starting a business in the midst of the Great Recession. The challenging experience is why Kerrest wrote Zero to IPO, a collection of some of the best actionable advice from some of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs. The book, which was published earlier this year, details his early days at Okta as well as those of other iconic entrepreneurs. This interview is part Greylock's Iconversations speaker series and was originally recorded in May 2022 with former Greylock general partner Sarah Guo. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/instructive-experiences/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A re-broadcast of our episode featuring the audio version of Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman's essay, "Human Nature in Vices and Virtues: An Adam Smith Approach to Building Internet Ecosystems and Communities," published on the Knight Foundation's website. Hoffman discusses how some of the most popular websites leverage some of humankind's less desirable attributes(e.g. "the 7 deadly sins"), and how entrepreneurs and investors can think about building based on virtuous traits. Essay read by Greylock marketing partner Elisa Schreiber. You can read the essay here: https://knightfoundation.org/human-nature-in-vices-and-virtues-an-adam-smith-approach-to-building-internet-ecosystems-and-communities/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A compilation of excerpts from 22 of our most popular podcasts of 2022. Greylock's head of editorial Heather Mack walks listeners through through interviews with industry leaders including OpenAI's Sam Altman, Cloudflare's Michelle Zatlyn, Nike's John Donahoe, and more. We're also featuring the top sought-after advice from Greylock's own team of investors such as Reid Hoffman, and tactical guidance from Greylock's talent and marketing specialists. You can read a transcript of this episode (which includes links to all full episodes from which the compilation is made) here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/2022-year-in-review/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zoox CEO Aicha Evans speaks with Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman to discuss how the "robotaxi" company has made safety permeate into every aspect of the company culture and operations; why they are building for dense urban environments; and her vision for the future of the “people moving business.” Zoox's unique approach to autonomous driving (building all of the hardware and software in-house, from the ground up), means the entire company is oriented around the same mission and priorities. From the people building the door handles to the developers coding the software, keeping riders safe is the paramount focus for every Zoox employee. That means all teams must operate with total transparency and expect a culture of collective learning, patience, and tradeoffs, says Evans. You can read a transcript of this interview here: You can read a transcript here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/zoox-moving-people-forward/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During economic downturns, is it possible (or even wise) for startup entrepreneurs to deploy growth tactics? Will companies be able to secure funding? Should founders even consider starting a business during a bear market? "100%," says Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman. However, the specific ways startups approach high-growth strategies during high-risk economic environments is crucial, and it all depends on the leverage points they have over their competition. Hoffman and his Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh discuss how entrepreneurs can assess their position in the market and take action to get them to the next phase of super-charged growth. You can read a transcript from this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/reid-hoffman-bear-market-blitzscaling/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the short-lived hype of NFTs centered on static jpeg files, there are actually far more use cases that can be deployed for the technology. Omaha-based Pinata has developed a platform that enables web3 app builders to store, manage, and build more functionality into NFTs. Pinata CEO and co-founder Kyle Tut sat down with Greylock general partner Mike Duboe to discuss the company's inception, the current web3 ecosystem, and Pinata's ultimate goal of serving content at scale for NFT projects. You can read the transcript from this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/pinata-getting-web3-creative-at-scale/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A re-broadcast of our episode featuring Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman in conversation with his Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh. In this episode (originally recorded in May 2022), Hoffman and Yeh discuss strategies for entrepreneurs to navigate crises - whatever that may mean at the given time. Entrepreneurship assumes an innate degree of optimism and perseverance. But even the most determined founders can feel subdued when faced with yet another crisis. That’s why adaptability is a startup’s strongest asset. As recent global events push us into a new era of market volatility and economic uncertainty, companies must be prepared to recalibrate their business to the new reality. Whether that means pausing their hiring plans, tempering their expansion efforts, redirecting resources, or any other number of operational activities, today’s startup leaders should have a set of defensive and offensive tactics they can quickly deploy during times of crisis. You can read a transcript of this episode here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/crisis-management/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A re-broadcast of our episode featuring Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman sharing the speech he gave at the 2022 Commencement of Vanderbilt University. Hoffman discusses several key moments in his personal and professional life, including his initial foray into entrepreneurship, and the role his friends have played. As he says, "The most impactful lessons that shaped my perspective, decisions, and ultimately the actions I took came from friends." You can read the transcript of this speech here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/reid-hoffman-the-importance-of-friendship/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greylock general partner Saam Motamedi talks with Snorkel AI CEO and co-founder Alex Ratner. As more enterprise organizations have recognized the utility of artificial intelligence technology, there's been a major push to invest in and adopt new AI and ML infrastructure to drive insights and make predictions for businesses. However, many of these solutions lack the mechanism to unlock and operationalize the data needed to train and deploy models for high quality AI projects. That pain point spawned the creation of Snorkel AI, which has developed an end-to-end data-centric machine learning platform for the enterprise.Putting the capabilities to build impactful AI in the hands of more people has been Snorkel's goal since its inception. The company spun out of Stanford's AI Lab in 2019 and has been partnered with Greylock since 2020, and just released a new set of tools that enables enterprise organizations to put foundation models to use. You can read a transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/jumpstarting-data-centric-ai/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are millions of entrepreneurs running small retail businesses in Latin America. While they may differ in the types of products sold or specific customers they target, the challenges they face in everyday operations are common. From low credit card penetration to poor visibility into shipping logistics and pricing, the various difficulties often boil down to a singular issue: lack of data. Brazil-based Inventa has been working to change that. The company’s digital marketplace steps in to fill the gaps left by the outdated modes of phone calls, paper catalogs, and in-person trade shows where much of LatAm retail commerce takes place. Greylock general partner and Inventa board member Mike Duboe talks with Inventa CEO and co-founder Marcos Salama about the company's strategy, explosive growth, and vision for the future of commerce in Latin America. You can read a transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/inventa-supplying-commerce-connections/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audio version of Greylock investor Seth Rosenberg's essay "Bringing DeFi Lending Mainstream," read by Greylock's head of editorial Heather Mack. Crypto hype and speculation got us into the current chaotic winter. But the core infrastructure remains, and is still ripe for the innovation that will take us into the next crypto summer. There are many real use cases across financial services that can not only usher us into a more secure, inclusive, and efficient financial system, but also return trust and ownership to those for whom crypto was created in the first place – the users. Rosenberg unpacks the use case of defi lending to illustrate how this can be done. You can read the essay here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/bringing-defi-lending-mainstream/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha and Steve Stone, the company's newly appointed head of its research department Zero Labs, sat down with MarketWatch reporter (and Greymatter guest host) Jon Swartz to discuss an inescapable fact of business life: Cyber attacks. They happen to pretty much everyone, but whether a company is prepared to recover from it depends on multiple factors, from their level of understanding of the risk to the data protection tools they have at their disposal. Most aren't: A recent survey conducted by Zero Labs found 92% of security and IT leaders don't feel confident they could carry on business if they experience a cyber attack. What's more, about a third of organizations surveyed said a cyber attack led to a leadership change, and many reported a misalignment between IT and security teams. Bipul, Steve, and Jon discuss the more findings from the report and outline how companies can protect their organizations. You can read a transcript of this conversation here: https://greylock.com/firm-news/building-cybersecurity-confidence/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rent the Runway CEO and co-founder Jennifer Hyman and Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman discuss the strategy behind the company's data-driven, online marketplace where people can rent or buy clothing. Rent the Runway launched in 2009 with the mission to democratize fashion. Over the years, the company has evolved significantly, keeping up with the many major shifts to the retail and e-commerce industries overall. From the rise of mobile and the increasingly outside influence of social media on shopping, to changes in consumer preferences from subscription models or in-person experiences, and, of course the multifaceted impact of the pandemic on shopping, Rent the Runway has continuously adapted. Rent the Runway went public in 2021 and today works with hundreds of designers. You can watch the video of this interview here: https://youtu.be/T06qHdl1sI0 You can read the transcript here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/designed-by-data/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices