Grit explores what it takes to create, build, and scale world-class organizations. It features weekly episodes highlighting the leaders who are pushing their companies to make a difference. This series is hosted by Joubin Mirzadegan, go to market operating partner at Kleiner Perkins, a venture capital firm investing in history-making founders.
Subscribe:.rss.atom.json.md.m3u.pls
Live Last read · last published · next check
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
"Our mission is to make it easier for everybody to experience the world." From the dot-com crash to AI, Glenn Fogel has spent nearly three decades helping Booking Holdings evolve through every major technology shift while staying true to that mission. He also shares with Joubin Mirzadegan why "you're always selling," and how Booking is using AI to amplify what every employee can accomplish. Guest:…
"The answer to every problem is a model." Parag Agrawal shares the ideas behind Parallel: products that continuously learn, and teams designed around versatile problem solvers. He also shares why he built an AI agent for himself, and why AI's biggest opportunity is expanding what people can achieve. Guest: Parag Agrawal, founder and CEO of Parallel, and former CEO of Twitter Connect with Parag X…
"There's 20 fires going on at every moment in the office and you have enough water to put out four." Mark Roberge shares what it takes to build and scale a company, from finding product-market fit to knowing when it's time to grow. He also shares the framework behind his new book, The Science of Selling, and why founders should scale based on their own data, not another company's success. Guest:…
In 2020, Airwallex lost nearly half its revenue overnight. Today it's worth $11 billion. Jack Zhang reflects on the decisions that kept the company alive, raising capital during uncertainty, and leading through its toughest chapter. This episode is a candid look at why Jack chose to keep building, even when a $1.2 billion acquisition was on the table. Guest: Jack Zhang, founder and CEO, Airwallex…
AI may change software overnight, but company building still takes time. Ryan Smith explains why, despite the pace of AI, “the race is going to be way longer than anyone thinks.” He reflects on Qualtrics surviving multiple market cycles and ultimately being acquired by SAP for $8 billion days before going public. Guest: Ryan Smith, co-founder Qualtrics Connect with Ryan Smith X LinkedIn Connect…
Great software companies often come from understanding pain points at a very deep level. On Grit , Aman Narang shares how Toast built trust with 171,000+ restaurant operators by helping restaurants manage everything from payments and online orders to staff scheduling and daily operations. He also reflects on lessons around product-market fit and scaling a company before it’s fully ready. Guest:…
Founder quality becomes more important as startups become easier to build. Trae Stephens, co-founder of Anduril and partner at Founders Fund, has spent years backing founders with strong conviction, including most recently at Roadrunner. He shares why too much capital too early can hurt startups, and why the best companies are built by teams with complementary strengths. Guest: Trae Stephens,…
What does it take to run a company where the business is risk itself? In conversation with Joubin Mirzadegan, Peter Zaffino shares what the role demands at AIG, including high stakes decisions, constant responsibility, and sacrifice. This episode looks at his journey as CEO ahead of his transition to Executive Chairman this June. Leading at a global scale across 200+ countries. Guest: Peter…
In a market that hadn’t changed in decades, Linear didn’t win by being faster. They won by being more thoughtful. Karri Saarinen helped shape design at Airbnb and Coinbase before building Linear around small teams and high standards. On Grit, he shares how Linear is building for a new era of software development. Guest: Karri Saarinen, co-founder and CEO of Linear Connect with Karri Saarinen X…
What does security look like when attackers use AI better than you do? Armadin recently raised $200M to build for the “attacker of the future,” where attacks are autonomous and harder to contain. On the Kleiner Perkins Grit podcast, Kevin Mandia joins Joubin Mirzadegan to share how he’s thinking about this shift, why cybersecurity has always been a calling, and why customer trust is what…
