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“Don’t go public without understanding your go-to-market.” Jeff Lawson reflects on Twilio’s go-to-market mistakes, including how the company generated hundreds of millions in revenue with just 7 sales reps. He also shares how AI is changing the economics of software and why he’s betting on fusion energy instead of entering the AI startup race. Guest: Jeff Lawson, co-founder and former CEO of Twilio, and co-founder and CEO of Inertia Connect with Jeff Lawson: XLinkedInConnect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Grit on:  LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

At Vercel, 91% of support volume is already resolved by an agent. After spending a decade at Google and another at Stripe, Jeanne Grosser shares how AI is changing the way Vercel goes to market. She also talks about the founder relationship as a “professional marriage,” what she looks for in a company she can stay at for a decade, and why she believes every pixel on the internet could eventually be built on Vercel. Guest: Jeanne Grosser, COO of Vercel Connect with Jeanne Grosser:  XLinkedInConnect with Joubin:  XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Grit on:  LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

How do you keep up when you go from 50 to 500 employees in a year? Jesse Zhang shares how Decagon scaled that quickly, from hiring ahead of demand to keeping the company connected as the team grows. He also explains why the zero-to-one phase is so different from scaling, and how Decagon found its way out of the idea maze in just three weeks. Guest: Jesse Zhang, Co-founder and CEO, Decagon Connect with Jesse Zhang XLinkedIn  Connect with Joubin: XLinkedIn Email: [email protected] Follow Grit on  LinkedInX ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

AI could be bigger than electricity. Anastasios Angelopoulos is seeing that shift firsthand, with Arena ranking 500+ models and tracking roughly 10 new releases every week. On Grit, he explains why there may never be one dominant AI model and why the API layer may be less sticky than people think. Guest: Anastasios Angelopoulos, Co-Founder and CEO of Arena Connect with Anastasios Angelopoulos XLinkedIn  Connect with Mamoon XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin: XLinkedIn Email: [email protected] Follow Grit:  LinkedInX ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

What kind of founder walks away from a multi-billion-dollar fintech company to start building rockets? Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, joins Joubin Mirzadegan to talk about life after one of the most consequential companies in modern finance, and why he's now betting on Cowboy Space Corporation, an orbital infrastructure company building AI data centers that ride to space inside its own rockets. "I still have that dog in me," he says. Baiju opens up about building alone for the first time in 15 years and what he learned about product-market fit while scaling Robinhood through its most chaotic years. Connect with Baiju: XLinkedInConnect with Joubin: XLinkedIn​Email: [email protected] Follow Grit on  LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

"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: Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings Connect with Glenn LinkedInConnect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Follow Grit LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

"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 XLinkedInConnect with Mamoon XLinkedInConnect with Joubin XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Grit on:  LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

"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: Mark Roberge, Founding CRO of HubSpot, HBS Professor, and Co-Founder at Stage 2 Capital Connect with Mark:  XLinkedInConnect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Grit on:  LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

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 Connect with Jack Zhang XLinkedInConnect with Joubin XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Grit on:  LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

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 XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Follow Grit:  LinkedInX ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

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: Aman Narang, co-founder and CEO, Toast Connect with Aman Narang LinkedIn Connect with Toast LinkedInInstagramX Connect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Follow on LinkedInFollow on X ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

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, co-founder, Anduril and Partner, Founders Fund Connect with Trae Stephens XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Follow Grit on LinkedIn Follow Grit on X ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

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 Zaffino Connect with Peter Zaffino LinkedInConnect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] on LinkedInFollow on X ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

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 XLinkedIn Connect with Josh Coyne: XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Follow on LinkedIn Follow on X ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

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 ultimately compounds into market leadership. Guest: Kevin Mandia, Founder and CEO, Armadin Connect with Kevin MandiaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mandia-0a07173/ Connect with Josh Coyne: XLinkedInConnect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: [email protected] Follow on LinkedInFollow on X​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins