Advertise on podcast: Great Chat

In this era of hot takes loosely held, we each reveal the hills we’re willing to die on. Helen defends advertising as the perfect business model, Angela says the maths never really math (so throw out your spreadsheets), and Ashley insists you only lose when you try to play someone else’s game. Plus: the Anthropic narrative shift, everyone loves Bret Taylor, and so long Tim Apple (hello Johnny Appleseed?). Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠LightningPod

When everyone is a developer, what does developer marketing even mean? This week on Great Chat, we're joined by developer relations expert Matt Palmer to discuss developer marketing and the eternal question of what's cool in San Francisco. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod

In the wake of its historic $122B fundraise, OpenAI just wrapped one of the crazier weeks in news, but we couldn't miss the chance to zero in on its surprise acquisition of new media darling TBPN. We asked Alexia Bonatsos, early stage investor and former editor of TechCrunch (a new media darling from a prior era), to join the chat. Plus: Is Medvi a shining new example of company building, or a business milkshake duck? And what's the deal with VC firms removing controversial startup logos from their websites (cough, Delve)? Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

So we all survived Q1—barely. When the world gets crazy, how do you stay sane? Spoiler alert: we don’t have any answers, but we have lots of hot takes. Plus: Mac opens a factory and schools us on submarine life, we wonder if anyone has reached Goldilocks status of being just the right amount online (not us), and it turns out AI may not have the polarizing effects of social media—we love a narrative violation. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod

We’re hearing the B word a lot more lately, and while it’s clear there’s a valuation bubble, we’re not betting on a correction just yet. Plus: OpenAI trades its “you can just do things” era for focus (RIP Sora and assorted side quests), Emil Michael shows us what it means to hold a grudge, and we Delve into the latest alleged bad behavior in startupland. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

With all this talk of looming layoffs and AI automation, we have to wonder: what’s the People/HR world like these days? Emily Herron, a longtime startup People leader and current HR Evangelist at Rippling, joined the chat to share her refreshingly candid and pragmatic POV. Plus: Travis Kalanick is back, baby, with the perfect narrative-moment fit. Meanwhile, Marc Andreessen breaks the internet with his latest hot take: the Great Men of history weren’t introspective. Please keep counterexamples to yourself. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

Inspired by International Women’s Day, we reflect on the different narratives for women in tech over the past few decades. From Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In to the rise (and fall) of the Girl Boss to…whatever this moment is? We break down what’s actually helpful to women, and what’s just performative. Plus: Microsoft enters the chat with Copilot Cowork (say that ten times fast), Anthropic strikes back with a lawsuit against the Department of War, and Cluely’s latest stunt feels so 2025. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

AI makes a lot of things easier, but reading the room is not one of them. On this week's Great Chat, we discuss how this moment feels different from 2020 and 2008, and debate whether we will see a return to empathy from our tech leaders. How do you lead when no one knows what will happen next? It seems everyone could benefit from taking a deep breath right now. Plus, why Katy Perry is trending again, narrative violations by Cursor, and some awful analogies that remind us that the current moment doesn't fit neatly into past frameworks. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

This week, we revisit one of our favorite topics: how to decide between operating roles and the portfolio life when it comes to your career. Ceci Stallmith joins us to talk about jumping back into operating as head of marketing at Lovable, and we get radically candid about all the things: stepping off the career ladder, balancing work and parenting, and the power of going with your gut. We also fangirl over Alysa Liu, lament Dario’s recent keynote, and wonder whether employing humans will someday be a luxury flex. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

This week, we try to explain looksmaxxing…and almost certainly kill that linguistic trend in the process. Meanwhile in venture, each new AI fundraise is valuation-mogging the last, and we unpack what extreme capital concentration might mean for the startup ecosystem more broadly. Plus: dancing robots (Helen is not a fan) and what Wuthering Heights and Jack Altman joining Benchmark have in common. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod: https://lightningpod.fm/

AI companies spent millions on Super Bowl ads, but none of them stuck! This week, we're joined by Dan Stroud, who runs an ad agency for tech companies, to break down what went wrong, what (if anything) went right, and whether startups should even be buying Big Game spots. Plus: the Winter Olympics, the flood of "SaaS is dead" takes, and more. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod.fm⁠.

Welcome back to year two of Great Chat. This week, the pod covers Chinese peptides, Brexit (the fintech exit, not the UK's withdrawal from the EU), Clawdbot/Moltbot/Moltbook, and contemplates whether there is a vibe shift in just one month into the new year. Does building in public work anymore? Did it ever? What takes its place? Has tech's reaction to the Epstein files proved that there is, in fact, a line for bad behavior? There were times we weren't so sure in 2025. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for year two of Great Chat. Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod.fm⁠.

As we wrap up 2025, we look at the stories tech told itself—and why they worked. From the bundling of everything, knowing when to make a change yourself in a rapidly changing labor market, and a lesson that you can survive any scandal as long as you keep winning. Plus, we weigh in on the SaaS debate ("Storytelling" as a Service), those Vanity Fair photos, and whether being hot is AI-proof. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for season three! Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠⁠LightningPod⁠.

Aubrie Pagano, GP at Alpaca VC, joins the chat! We talk about why no one is talking about what happens after AGI, and then dive into Aubrie’s mind-bending effort to tackle the subject with The Aquarius Economy: part white paper, part science fiction, part investing thesis. We also compare our Granola Crunched results (we *are* amazing at zooms, ty), contemplate why no one seems excited about Netflix’s bid to buy Warner Bros, and discuss some shocking new stats from the NYT about the sex lives of young people. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for season three! Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod.

Inspired by Sam Altman’s “code red” for ChatGPT in the wake of the Gemini 3 launch and the rumored beef between the Kalshi and Polymarket founders, we talk about legendary tech rivalries. Uber versus Lyft, Rippling versus Deel, Jobs versus Gates, and much much more. What are the different flavors, and do they make you better, or is the drama a distraction? Also: the tech industry’s response to the New York Times piece on David Sacks. Mercury is back as the headline sponsor for season three! Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC. This podcast is edited by Eric Johnson from ⁠LightningPod.