Grit

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: XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com 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 Mandia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mandia-0a07173/ Connect with Josh Coyne: XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow on LinkedIn Follow on X ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Emil Michael went from scaling Uber across 600 cities to rewiring the world's largest military. In the midst of the Pentagon-Silicon Valley debate, the now U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering opens up about what a real partnership demands from both sides. He also shares how he's built three new entry points for defense tech companies, and why America's military is called the "Department of War" again. Guest: Emil Michael, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Connect with Emil Michael XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgrit Follow on X: https://x.com/KPGrit ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Few founders have seen Silicon Valley from every seat at the table. After co-creating Google Maps at Google, serving as CTO at Facebook, and later as co-CEO of Salesforce, Bret Taylor is now building AI agents at Sierra to redefine customer experience. On Grit, he explains why “competitive intensity” is a core value at their fast-growing company and why he believes AI won’t lead to a world where people stop working. Guest: Bret Taylor, co-founder of Sierra Connect with Bret XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com Follow Grit LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

What began as a 14 year old fixing infected computers became Malwarebytes, an 800 person cybersecurity company trusted by millions of customers. On Grit, Marcin Kleczynski joins Joubin Mirzadegan to explore AI driven cyber threats, strategic reinvention, and the discipline of evolving before the market forces you to. “We’ve exceeded. Now, what do we do to protect individuals against the next wave of threats, which are plentiful?” Guest: Marcin Kleczynski, CEO at Malwarebytes Connect with Marcin Kleczynski X: https://x.com/mkleczynski LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcinkleczynski/ Connect with Joubin X: https://x.com/Joubinmir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/ Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgrit Follow on X: https://x.com/KPGrit ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

Can you scale customer support without burning out agents or frustrating customers? Ping Wu shares how Cresta combines AI and human intelligence into a single system that scales sustainably for companies like United Airlines and Porsche. In this episode, Ping also breaks down the three constraints that shape automation in the real world: conversation complexity, infrastructure debt, and customer demographics. Guest: Ping Wu, CEO of Cresta Connect with Ping Wu X: https://x.com/ping_wu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pingwu/ Connect with Joubin X: https://x.com/Joubinmir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/ Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgrit Follow on X: https://x.com/KPGrit ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

USDC closed the gap between software and law in modern finance. On Grit, Jeremy Allaire discusses how fully reserved, dollar backed digital currency became part of the financial system after more than a decade of work. He also shares why for him grit is about sustaining belief through deep uncertainty, even when Circle faced the threat of bankruptcy in 2019. Guest: Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO at Circle ​ Connect with Jeremy Allaire X: https://x.com/jerallaire LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyallaire/ Connect with Joubin X: https://x.com/Joubinmir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/ Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgrit Follow on X: https://x.com/KPGrit ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

Glean has grown into a $7.2B company by giving employees AI assistants and agents that extend their capabilities. CEO Arvind Jain is back on Grit alongside Joubin Mirzadegan. Here’s what stood out: You can also listen to Arvind’s earlier episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIH0Qp6d6bg&list=PLRiWZFltuYPF8A6UGm74K2q29UwU-Kk9k&index=96 Guest: Arvind Jain, founder and CEO, Glean ​ Connect with Arvind Jain X: https://x.com/jainarvind LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jain-arvind/ Connect with Joubin X: https://x.com/Joubinmir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/ Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgrit Follow on X: https://x.com/KPGrit ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

In this recap episode, we highlight the best moments from our 2025 interviews and reflect on the ideas that defined the year. Featuring: David Rubenstein (co-founder of Carlyle) - From White House to Wall Street: David Rubenstein Yamini Rangan (CEO of HubSpot) - HubSpot CEO on the Future of SaaS, AI, & Leading Through Change Ben Chestnut (co-founder of Mailchimp) - Bootstrapped to 12B: Mailchimp’s Ben Chestnut on Life After the Exit Winston Weinberg (co-founder and CEO of Harvey) - I Raised $300M To Bring AI To Laywers | Winston Weinberg & Harvey Garrett Lord (co-founder of Handshake) - The Expert Network Behind Handshake AI’s Model Training w/ Garrett Lord & Mamoon Hamid Aidan Gomez (co-founder and CEO of Cohere) - Synthetic Data and the Future of AI | Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez Michelle Zatlyn (co-founder of Cloudflare) - Building Cloudflare for the Next 50 Years | Co-founder Cloudflare Michelle Zatlyn Evan Spiegel (co-founder and CEO of Snap) - How Snap Plans to Win the AR Race | Evan Spiegel on Spectacles Connect with Joubin X: https://x.com/Joubinmir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/ Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgrit Follow on X: https://x.com/KPGrit ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

What happens when AI becomes your most influential referrer? As consumers turn to ChatGPT for answers, James Cadwallader and his team at Profound help brands like Eight Sleep and MongoDB gain visibility and leverage inside AI models. On this episode of Grit, he explains why brand narrative has shifted away from content, and why Profound is scaling globally ahead of traditional SaaS timelines. Guest: James Cadwallader, co-founder and CEO of Profound and Ilya Fushman, partner at Kleiner Perkins Connect with James Cadwallader X: https://x.com/thejamescad?lang=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsca/ ​ Connect with Ilya Fushman X: https://x.com/ilyaf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilyafushman/ Connect with Joubin X: https://x.com/Joubinmir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/ Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgrit Follow on X: https://x.com/KPGrit ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

Turning down a $3B offer from Facebook is a bold move for any young CEO. Evan Spiegel shares how Snap’s early dream was to stay independent and give its community an authentic voice, a bet that proved right. He also explains why they are now doubling down on AR glasses and why the anxiety around AI deserves far more attention from tech leaders. Guest: Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc. and Bing Gordon, Advisor at Kleiner Perkins ​ Connect with Evan Spiegel X:https://x.com/evanspiegel?lang=en LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-spiegel/ ​ Connect with Bing Gordon X: https://x.com/bingfish LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binggordon/ Connect with Joubin X: https://x.com/Joubinmir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/ Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

The hardest systems attract the most serious builders. Joubin Mirzadegan shares how a career defined by ‘hardcore discipline’ and impatience with broken infrastructure pulled him from Kleiner Perkins back into the arena as CEO of Roadrunner, now valued at $7.2B. He reflects on how an early startup failure taught him that building is about will, and why he believes AI only matters when it delivers precision at scale. Guest: Joubin Mirzadegan, Partner, Kleiner Perkins ​ Connect with Mamoon XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Fifteen years in, it can still feel like “we’re just getting started.” Michelle Zatlyn, co-founder of Cloudflare, returns to Grit with Joubin Mirzadegan to share how Cloudflare secures the internet for millions, with a vision built to last generations. She also shares why staying close to reality and to customers becomes harder as success compounds, and how Cloudflare is helping content creators regain control in an AI driven internet. Guest: Michelle Zatlyn, co-founder and President of Cloudflare Connect with Michelle Zatlyn XLinkedIn​ Connect with Joubin XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Screens have pulled families apart. Brynn Putnam set out to bring them back together with Board, the world’s ‘first face-to-face game console.’ On Grit, she tells Joubin Mirzadegan how every venture she’s built, including Mirror, started as a personal need, and how her true edge is the ability to strip an idea down to what actually matters. Guest: Brynn Putnam, founder and CEO of Board Connect with Brynn Putnam XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

How do companies like Salesforce and Dell scale intelligence across every cloud? Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Cohere, explains how they’re building AI that works across all enterprise systems and deploys anywhere, giving companies true flexibility and security. He joins Joubin Mirzadegan for a wide-ranging conversation on why synthetic data went from dismissed to indispensable, and how the race among AI labs is really unfolding. Guest: Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Cohere Connect with Aidan: XLinkedInConnect with Joubin: XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

The hardest company to build is the one you start after you’ve already succeeded. After scaling Yext into a platform powering millions of businesses, Howard Lerman chose to start over with Roam, the “Office of the Future,” where humans and AI work side by side from anywhere. On Grit, he joins Joubin Mirzadegan to talk about the solitude of leadership and what happens when you stop building for Wall Street. Guest: Howard Lerman, co-founder and former CEO of Yext, and founder and CEO of Roam ​Connect with Howard Lerman XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com​ Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

The hardest part of transformation is knowing what to let go of. Dan O’Connell, now leading Front as CEO and formerly on the board at Dialpad, joins Joubin Mirzadegan to explore the delicate balance between legacy and innovation as he leads a decade old company through the AI revolution. He also reflects on why courage and control can coexist in leadership, and what it means to “make decisions that give you energy.” Guest: Dan O’Connell, CEO of Front ​ Connect with Dan O’Connell XLinkedIn​ Connect with Joubin XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com​ Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Before AI became a buzzword, a few true believers were already building. Since early 2022, Mati Staniszewski and his team at ElevenLabs have been among them, working to create voices that “actually represent emotions.” He shares with Joubin Mirzadegan how voice AI is transforming diverse fields, from delivering personalized healthcare for different age groups to amplifying creativity in filmmaking. Guest: Mati Staniszewski, co-founder and CEO of ElevenLabs Connect with Mati Staniszewski XLinkedIn​ Connect with Joubin XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com​ ​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

What’s product-market fit like when you give people the power to do what they never thought was possible? On this rerun of Grit from April 2024, Victor Riparbelli, co-founder and CEO of Synthesia, shares how his platform gave billions a new way to create video without cameras, and explores a future where video and audio replace text as the primary way to share knowledge and content. Guests: Victor Riparbelli, CEO and co-founder of Synthesia and Josh Coyne, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Connect with Victor Riparbelli X: https://x.com/vriparbelli LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorriparbelli/ ​ Connect with Josh Coyne X: https://x.com/josh_coyne LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuacoyne/ ​ Connect with Joubin X: https://x.com/Joubinmir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/ Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com ​ Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

Make your product irresistible, and everything else will follow. That’s the philosophy of Grant Lee, co-founder and CEO of Gamma, an AI design platform with an 'anti-PowerPoint approach', used by over 50M people. This week on Grit, he also shares why enduring businesses aren’t one person shows, and how their deliberate hiring process shapes and strengthens company culture. Connect with Grant Lee XLinkedIn Connect with Joubin XLinkedIngrit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner Perkins