Podcasts by Masters of Scale
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17. Sam Altman: Customer love is all you need from 2023-11-20T17:00
The true seed of scale is customer love, which you can’t buy, hack, or game. Sam Altman, former president of Y Combinator, scaled countless start-ups by focusing on this one idea: Finding 100 us...
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Rapid Response: Invest in first principles, w/Sarah Levy, Betterment CEO from 2022-02-24T10:00
It may appear off-brand for Betterment, a digital investment adviser, to acquire a cryptocurrency investing platform. But CEO Sarah Levy explains that Betterment, positioned around its long-term...
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Announcing the Masters of Scale Summit from 2022-02-23T14:00
Go to summit.mastersofscale.com to learn how to join a pantheon of scale leaders gathering in ...
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Rapid Response: "Be confident enough to show your vulnerability," w/Ken Frazier (Merck/General Catalyst) from 2022-02-17T10:00
Ken Frazier, the longtime CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck, was one of the few Black CEOs at the top of Corporate America. Now as an adviser at General Catalyst and co-founder of the social imp...
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Strategy Session: How to make the most of tough pivots? What are the right growth targets? How do you best prepare for entrepreneurship? from 2022-02-15T10:00
In this special edition of Strategy Session, Reid Hoffman answers five burning questions from our Masters of Scale Members. Each asks Reid a critical question about the business challenges that ...
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Rapid Response: Scaling when you’re already at scale, w/Qualcomm's Cristiano Amon from 2022-02-10T10:00
As the global chip shortage unfolded last year, Qualcomm’s engineers quickly redesigned their products – an effort that tapped into “every possible capacity we could find,” says CEO Cristiano Am...
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28. What great founders do at night, w/Arianna Huffington from 2022-02-08T10:00
To survive your entrepreneurial journey, you have to learn to recharge. Knowing when to turn the lights out may be the only way to keep the lights on. Few know this better than Arianna Huffingto...
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Rapid Response: Tapping a new generation of consumers, w/The Drone Racing League's Rachel Jacobson from 2022-02-03T10:00
With their eyes fixed on what’s next, the Drone Racing League has established a fresh fanbase, previously left untapped by professional sports. President Rachel Jacobson, formerly an NBA executi...
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106. Don’t predict the future. Create it, w/Net-a-Porter's Natalie Massenet from 2022-02-01T10:00
You’ve had a glimpse into the future, and you’re sitting on an idea that could change the world. Now what? Well, prepare for layers of resistance, and be ready to spring into action. Throughout ...
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Rapid Response: Be relentless – so your team can be fearless, w/Planned Parenthood’s Alexis McGill Johnson from 2022-01-27T10:00
Faced with long odds, how do you keep your team motivated and moving forward? As a leader, Alexis McGill Johnson is focused on building hope. As the president of Planned Parenthood, Johnson is p...
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66. The 4 core principles of crisis management, w/Ellen Kullman (DuPont, Carbon) from 2022-01-25T10:00
To survive a crisis, you have to double down on who you already are as a company. This is something Ellen Kullman knows, having led DuPont through the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and taken the C...
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Rapid Response: Lessons of Omicron, w/Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust from 2022-01-20T10:00
Sir Jeremy Farrar is UK’s pre-eminent scientific authority on Covid-19 and the chief executive at the research foundation Wellcome Trust. He joins Rapid Response to discuss the latest learnings ...
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105. Always be recruiting, w/Paul English, co-founder of Kayak from 2022-01-18T10:00
The more your business scales, the more tempting it is to delegate your company’s recruiting efforts. Resist that urge! You should always be recruiting. Featuring Paul English, co-founder of tra...
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Rapid Response: How to decarbonize your business, w/John Doerr, partner at Kleiner Perkins from 2022-01-13T10:00
“Go for the megatons.” That’s John Doerr’s recommendation for how we need to combat the existential threat of climate change. Doerr, a venture capitalist and author of the new boo...
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104. Leap before you look, w/Marc Lore (Jet.com) from 2022-01-11T10:00
Marc Lore is all too familiar with leaping into the unknown. He’s made leaps of faith as the founder of Diapers.com, Jet.com, the CEO of Walmart U.S. e-commerce, and now, as a part owner of NBA/...
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Marc Andreessen: The 6 secrets of great timing from 2022-01-04T14:37:11
As an early internet founder and iconic venture capitalist, Marc Andreessen has thought deeply about the role timing plays in a startup's success. Timing is of vital importance to any business: ...
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87. President Barack Obama: When the moment chooses you, part 1 from 2021-12-21T10:00
Politics and entrepreneurship have much in common: Both versions of scale leadership require strategic patience, hard work, a clear vision of a better future, an unshakable belief that you can b...
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Rapid Response: How flexibility creates momentum, w/Crate&Barrel CEO Janet Hayes from 2021-12-16T10:00
Crate & Barrel CEO Janet Hayes has been on a mission to modernize the home decor company since she took over as CEO in August, 2020. When she first joined the company, stores were closed and...
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Strategy Session LIVE!: How to protect yourself from copycat businesses? When should you seek funding? How to entice funders to invest in a niche business? from 2021-12-14T10:00
This special rendition of Strategy Session stars small business owners who Masters of Scale fans might recognize. That’s because a number of them have been featured in our signature three-act ad...
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Rapid Response: How GoFundMe has facilitated $15 billion in giving, w/CEO Tim Cadogan from 2021-12-09T10:00
From the start of the pandemic, GoFundMe has served as a consistent global outlet for help. Since its inception, the for-profit crowdsourcing platform has facilitated $15 billion in giving throu...
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103. How redefining boundaries drives performance, w/former Unilever CEO Paul Polman from 2021-12-07T10:00
When Paul Polman joined Unilever as CEO in 2009, the consumer goods company – home to 400-plus brands including Dove soap, Ben & Jerry’s, and Vaseline – had been stagnated with years of lack...
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Rapid Response: Re-founding Instacart, w/first-time CEO Fidji Simo from 2021-12-02T10:00
This past summer, Fidji Simo departed from Facebook – where she stood among the highest-ranking female executives, serving as the head of their app – for the opportunity to become a first-time C...
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39. The case for bootstrapping, w/Mailchimp's Ben Chestnut from 2021-11-30T10:00
This week, we’re returning to an episode of Masters of Scale featuring Ben Chestnut, the co-founder and CEO of Mailchimp. The email marketing platform was acquired this year by Intuit in a multi...
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Three tools for happy, healthy gatherings, by Meditative Story from 2021-11-24T10:00
Many of us attempt to shift gears during the holidays, spend quality time with people we love, and refresh. But too often, we end up glued to our devices – catching up on work, avoiding complex ...
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Need to know, w/Reid&Bob: Metaverse mania, the great resignation, Facebook quandaries, and more from 2021-11-22T10:00
Reid Hoffman and Rapid Response host Bob Safian break down what you need to know right now about the most important issues and opportunities impacting entrepreneurs. The co-hosts dive into infla...
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Rapid Response: How to turn intentions into action, w/Aurora James, founder of the 15 Percent Pledge from 2021-11-18T10:00
In May 2020, as companies began making promises about how they’d help Black-owned businesses in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, Aurora James launched the 15 Percent Pledge initiative with an...
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102. Build a better board, w/Mellody Hobson, Lisa Shalett,&Shishir Mehrotra from 2021-11-16T10:00
Your board of directors can make or break you. In fact, Reid believes, the wrong board member can break your company faster than the right board member can make it. Learn the five vita...
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Rapid Response: "You should be running toward AI," w/Eric Schmidt (frmr Google CEO) from 2021-11-11T10:00
Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, breaks down his deep insights around artificial intelligence on Rapid Response. Schmidt, co-author of the new book "The Age of AI: And Our Human Future," alon...
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101. Focus on the scale that your customers can’t see, w/Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford from 2021-11-09T10:00
Too often, companies only focus on the type of scale that’s visible: massive campuses, thousands of workers, offices around the globe. But as Land O’Lakes proves, there are less conspicuous ways...
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Rapid Response: How Peloton keeps pushing through resistance, w/CEO John Foley from 2021-11-04T09:00
Skepticism and doubt are no strangers to John Foley, the CEO of Peloton. As he says, it’s been part of the company’s DNA “since the first time I pitched the business to an investor back in 2012....
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100. Lessons that matter most: What we’ve learned from 100 episodes of Masters of Scale from 2021-11-01T09:00
What’s harder about entrepreneurship than most people realize? How do you overcome your own doubts? Can you really trust your team? In this special episode, Reid Hoffman and Masters of...
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Rapid Response: The truth about what we watch, with Nielsen’s David Kenny from 2021-10-28T09:00
How do you respond when your own users resist your data? That question is top-of-mind for Nielsen CEO David Kenny. For decades, Nielsen has measured ratings and demographics across TV and media ...
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50. Ray Dalio: How to embrace conflict from 2021-10-26T09:00
Want to improve any idea? Find someone who disagrees with it. This is something legendary investor Ray Dalio knows. But there’s a difference between constructive and destructive conflict – and D...
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Rapid Response: Launching a $500b startup, w/Jet.com's Marc Lore from 2021-10-21T09:00
Since stepping down as Walmart’s president of e-commerce at the beginning of the year, billionaire entrepreneur Marc Lore has had a busy year of big ideas. In the spring, it was announced that h...
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62. A masterclass in crowdsourcing, w/Duolingo's Luis von Ahn from 2021-10-19T09:00
Crowdsourcing is more than a group of people interested in the same cause, it’s a way to tap skills – and scale – that you don’t have. And when it works, it can be the rocket fuel that launches ...
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Rapid Response: Overcoming institutional hurdles, w/ U.S. Olympic&Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland from 2021-10-14T09:00
In the last year, Sarah Hirshland has had to face one daunting issue after another as the CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee – each of which have required urgent, in-the-moment d...
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99. The Honest Company’s Jessica Alba: Make your customer the star from 2021-10-12T09:00
Jessica Alba’s approach in founding and building The Honest Company revolves around three letters: IRL, a useful acronym for “In Real Life.” This phrase acts as a reminder for the company to shi...
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Rapid Response: SolarWinds: Urgent lessons from a cyberattack, w/ CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna from 2021-10-07T09:00
Last year, SolarWinds became the subject of a massive and sophisticated cyberattack, potentially affecting thousands of organizations. CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna, who joined the company soon after...
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98. No data, no scale, w/Care.com’s Sheila Lirio Marcelo from 2021-10-05T09:00
No matter what phase of growth you’re in, data is essential to scale. Take it from Sheila Lirio Marcelo, the founder and former CEO of Care.com, the two-sided marketplace connecting working fami...
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Rapid Response: How to scale tech responsibly, with former Google ad chief and Neeva founder Sridhar Ramaswamy from 2021-09-30T09:00
To compete against bigger players, you need a special edge. Sridhar Ramaswamy, who led Google’s huge ad business, is now going head-to head against his former employer with an ad-free subscripti...
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97. How to unlock your team’s creative potential w/ Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo from 2021-09-28T09:00
To get the most out of your talent, you need to create an environment that allows them to thrive. Nobody knows this better than Indra Nooyi who spent 12 years as the CEO of PepsiCo. It was her d...
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Rapid Response: How to lead for enduring impact w/ Spelman’s Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell from 2021-09-23T09:00
Your ability to make quick decisions in the face of a crisis can define your career. That’s been the case for Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, president of Spelman College, the all-women's HBCU in Atl...
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Bonus: Five secrets to keeping your best employees from 2021-09-21T09:00
Managing your team right now requires fresh thinking. Learn what motivates the best performance, and how to build creative teams in remote, hybrid, and fluid conditions, from some of t...
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Rapid Response: In hard times, the show must go on, w/BroadwayHD’s Bonnie Comley from 2021-09-16T09:00
18 months ago, the lights went out on Broadway. What can you learn as this $16bn industry begins to re-light the lights? Tony-winning producer Bonnie Comley, the CEO of BroadwayHD and board pres...
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96. How setbacks create momentum w/ Robert Reffkin, Compass founder and CEO from 2021-09-14T09:00
As dangerous as obstacles and setbacks may appear, they can also present opportunities. Robert Reffkin, founder and CEO of the real estate platform, Compass, knows this well. He’s a perfect exam...
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Rapid Response: When to build the company before the product, with Aurora CEO Chris Urmson from 2021-09-09T09:00
Chris Urmson has had to take a different approach in building his company Aurora, which develops self-driving technology. As opposed to creating and iterating a product with a handful of people,...
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Strategy Session: When to leave the trenches? Can you pivot without losing customers? Can co-founders stay aligned remotely? from 2021-09-07T09:00
Host Reid Hoffman answers seven burning questions from a range of entrepreneurs facing universal and timeless challenges in this all-new Strategy Session. How do you expand to a country where yo...
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Rapid Response: When you should require vaccinations w/ Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer from 2021-09-02T09:00
“You have to preserve your energy because this year has been about pace,” says iconic restaurateur Danny Meyer in his fourth Rapid Response interview. Meyer catches us up on the past seven-plus ...
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95. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella: Why we need re-founders from 2021-08-31T09:00
To achieve massive scale, you don’t just need founders, you also need a re-founder – someone to come in at a later stage to keep the mission and culture on track. As Microsoft’s third CEO ever –...
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Rapid Response: How Electronic Arts grows a metaverse, with CEO Andrew Wilson from 2021-08-26T09:00
Hollywood may build stars, but gaming is "the biggest, fastest-growing entertainment medium in the world," says CEO Andrew Wilson of Electronic Arts. That's why businesses from Netflix to Disney...
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Coming soon on Masters of Scale Season 9 from 2021-08-24T09:00
Coming August 31st: An all-new season of Masters of Scale, with iconic leaders and rising stars of scale companies. This season, Reid Hoffman trades theories with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft...
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Rapid Response: How mission fuels risk-taking, with Illumina CEO Francis deSouza from 2021-08-19T09:00
Facing off with the FTC isn't for the timid. But when your mission and your business model are aligned, the hard decisions – about risk, about investment, about priorities – become clearer. Fran...
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Bonus: Cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset, w/Reid, Bob&Sir Richard Branson from 2021-08-17T09:00
Reid’s personal advice on the most important success factor for any scale leader: your mindset. Talking with editor-at-large Bob Safian, Reid shares how he approaches every challenge with a lear...
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47. Make it epic, w/will.i.am from 2021-08-10T09:00
What can entrepreneurs learn from a genre-crossing, multi-platinum musician? How to take a big opportunity — and leverage it into something epic. From his earliest days as a founding member of t...
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8. Netflix’s Reed Hastings: Why culture matters from 2021-08-03T09:00
You need a strong culture to build a company that will scale beyond the early startup days. And strong company cultures only emerge when every employee feels they own the culture from Day One. H...
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Rapid Response: How Harley-Davidson set a foundation for the long term with CEO Jochen Zeitz from 2021-07-29T09:00
Even an 118-year-old company needs an entrepreneurial jolt. When Jochen Zeitz took over as CEO of motorcycle maker Harley Davidson in early 2020, he moved quickly to restructure the business – e...
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94. The beauty of emphasizing the obvious, w/Birchbox's Katia Beauchamp from 2021-07-27T09:00
Unconventional ideas define entrepreneurship: They fuel dreams but also spur naysayers and obstacles. Katia Beauchamp, co-founder and CEO of Birchbox, has repeatedly found ways to recast the unc...
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Rapid Response: Inside J.Crew's purposeful pivot, with CEO Libby Wadle from 2021-07-22T09:00
"We have to reignite the energy and the fire and the love," says CEO Libby Wadle of J.Crew Group, which launched Madewell Forever this week, a dynamic bet on sustainability. The resale platform,...
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Strategy Session: When should founders step aside? Where can you find investors? Were pandemic pivots harmful? from 2021-07-20T09:00
When should you hire your replacement as CEO? Is blitzscaling still the best strategy, in today's context of uncertainty? What are the best fundraising options if you can't access a major VC fir...
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Rapid Response: Scaling a mission w/TAAF's Sonal Shah from 2021-07-15T09:00
"Hate is not a one community issue," says Sonal Shah, president of The Asian American Foundation, a nonprofit launched by business leaders in May, dedicated to addressing discrimination against ...
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22. How to find your big idea w/Spanx's Sara Blakely from 2021-07-13T09:00
To find your big idea? Look for it. And look for it. And be ready to act. Spanx founder Sara Blakely was actively seeking a business idea when she thought of Spanx. Then she moved fast, found he...
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Rapid Response: How BuzzFeed Bounced Back, w/Jonah Peretti from 2021-07-08T09:00
Millennials and Gen Z want different experiences, different content, different opportunities. But catering to those distinct needs wasn't enough, says BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti; ...
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93. How to accelerate expertise, with Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments, chair of Starbucks from 2021-07-06T09:00
To move at the speed of opportunity, you need to accelerate expertise. Mellody Hobson is co-CEO of Ariel Investments, the first Black-owned asset management firm in the United States, as well as...
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Rapid Response: Tapping into generosity (via Bitcoin), w/Charity: Water's Scott Harrison from 2021-07-01T09:00
The art of promotion can advance any enterprise, as Scott Harrison demonstrated even during the pandemic. As founder and CEO of Charity Water, Scott faced fundraising trouble a year ago but now ...
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92. Asking the uncomfortable questions, w/ Michael Seibel, Y Combinator from 2021-06-29T09:00
Barreling full-speed ahead isn't always the key to scale. For Michael Seibel, managing director at Y Combinator and co-founder of Justin.tv and Socialcam, action sometimes needs to take a back s...
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Rapid Response: Fighting through headwinds at Marriott, w/President Stephanie Linnartz from 2021-06-24T09:00
With Marriott's business already reeling due to Covid, beloved CEO Arne Sorenson was lost to cancer earlier this year. Stephanie Linnartz, president of Marriott International, shares how sh...
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Need to Know, w/Reid&Bob: Crypto craziness, ransomware attacks, "smart risks"&more from 2021-06-22T09:00
"Will some people lose their shirts with crypto? Absolutely. Will new great industries be built upon this? Absolutely," Reid Hoffman tells Rapid Response host Bob Safian, in a new, unfiltered co...
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Rapid Response: Why business must be a force for good, w/former American Express CEO Ken Chenault from 2021-06-17T09:00
"Corporations can be a force for good – and they can also be very successful," says Ken Chenault, chair of investment firm General Catalyst and former longtime CEO of American Express. During th...
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91. J.J. Abrams: Make room for magic from 2021-06-15T09:00
You can’t predict your next a-ha moment. but you can create favorable circumstances for serendipity to happen – for you, and for your team. No one knows this better than J.J. Abrams, director, p...
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The Complete Interviews from Masters of Scale from 2021-06-14T09:00
The never-before-released, original and uncut conversations between host Reid Hoffman and Masters of Scale guests. Each intimate, unedited conversation includes 60 minutes or more of content, in...
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Rapid Response: Fashioning a greener closet, w/Rent the Runway's Jenn Hyman from 2021-06-10T09:00
Fashion became secondary amid Covid lockdowns. Sweatpants-only life pressed apparel-subscription service Rent the Runway into layoffs and furloughs. But as co-founder and CEO Jenn Hyman explains...
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90. Build the right flywheel, w/Teach for America / Teach for All's Wendy Kopp from 2021-06-08T09:00
Not every platform turns into a flywheel for scale. Wendy Kopp founded two networks that each became flywheels for change: Teach for America and Teach for All, where she's currently CEO. Yet the...
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Rapid Response: The promise and peril of engineering biology, w/Ginkgo Bioworks Reshma Shetty from 2021-06-03T09:00
Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine would not have scaled without Ginkgo Bioworks. Reshma Shetty, co-founder and COO of Ginkgo – slated to go public via SPAC acquisition at a reported $15 billion valuati...
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5 essential moves for post-pandemic success, featuring Airbnb, Etsy, Sunrun, and more from 2021-05-29T09:00
Shift your mindset. Tighten your focus. Map your future. In this special episode, Reid Hoffman presents a five-step playbook for post-crisis success. Moving from chaos to calm requires a revised...
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Rapid Response: Upskilling and the war for talent, w/Guild Education CEO Rachel Carlson from 2021-05-27T09:00
How do you win the post-pandemic war for talent? Send your frontline workers to online school. That's the pitch that Rachel Carlson has made – successfully – to big businesses from Chipotle to D...
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89. Alex Rodriguez: How mentorship provides an edge from 2021-05-25T09:00
Even all-star athletes are coached. So why not you? Alex Rodriguez, former professional baseball player, leaned into outside advice at the most challenging moments in his career – and in buildin...
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Rapid Response: Why real estate matters more than ever, with Compass founder&CEO Robert Reffkin from 2021-05-20T09:00
"We may not be able to survive this," remarked Robert Reffkin, founder and CEO of real estate platform Compass, after pandemic lockdown rules essentially outlawed U.S. home selling. Yet today th...
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88. President Barack Obama, part 2: How to adapt to changing rules from 2021-05-18T09:00
Creating a prototype in your garage isn't the same as leading a team of thousands. You need to keep your mission constant, but your tactics fluid as you scale. This is exactly the challenge Pres...
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Rapid Response: Inside Google’s Pandemic Safety Squad, w/Chief Health Officer Dr. Karen DeSalvo from 2021-05-13T09:00
Google search may be the world’s most powerful public health platform. Dr Karen DeSalvo, Google's chief health officer, has built a team of doctors, scientists and clinicians who — alongside eng...
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Rapid Response: Surviving a close shave, with Harry's co-CEO Andy Katz-Mayfield from 2021-05-06T09:00
Harry's took a one-two punch in 2020 – right on the chin. First, the federal government blocked a $1.37 billion acquisition of the shaving and consumer products company; then Covid-19 lockdowns ...
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30. The elusive formula for great hiring, w/Workday's Aneel Bhusri from 2021-05-04T09:00
Your first hires are your cultural cofounders. And it’s worth your time to get every one right. That's why Workday CEO Aneel Bhusri personally interviewed his first 500 employees. Today, with 12...
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Rapid Response: "A crucible moment for Instacart," with founder&CEO Apoorva Mehta from 2021-04-29T09:00
Five years of growth in five weeks. That's how Covid-19 lockdowns accelerated Instacart's business last spring. Now, a year later, the company faces another "crucible moment," says Instacart CEO...
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A Strategy Session w/A-Rod + Reid: Build a team of mentors from 2021-04-27T09:00
To win at scale, you need more than great players – you need a team of great coaches. This Strategy Session episode is full of great advice and tactics for building that deep bench of mentors, e...
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Rapid Response: A pandemic is not a business model, w/Blue Apron's Linda Findley Kozlowski from 2021-04-22T09:00
With the pandemic, cooking at home got a renewed boost, and meal kit outfits saw a rise in demand. But a year in, the trend toward at-home dining now faces a new inflection point. We're talking ...
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86. Frustration is your friend, w/Houzz founder Adi Tatarko from 2021-04-20T09:00
Frustration is an important signal: it indicates an opportunity, a problem to be solved. And if your solution also builds a community, you've unlocked a path to scale. Adi Tatarko founded the on...
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Rapid Response: Can bankruptcy save movie theaters? with Alamo Drafthouse CEO Shelli Taylor from 2021-04-15T09:00
"It's 12 months of no meaningful revenue," says Alamo Drafthouse CEO Shelli Taylor. "And then last weekend was phenomenal." Taylor returns to the podcast to explain why the hip, culture-forward ...
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Need to Know, w/Reid&Bob: GameStop, SPACs, gov't stimulus, and vaccines from 2021-04-13T09:00
"The future is sooner and stranger than you think," Reid Hoffman tells Rapid Response host Bob Safian in a frank, unfiltered conversation about the lessons of 2021 so far. "The rulebook will be ...
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Rapid Response: Delta CEO Ed Bastian: Turbulence, recovery, and risk from 2021-04-08T09:00
With 75% of U.S. customers saying they'll soon be vaccinated, Delta is embracing a new phase, opening up middle seats as of May 1. CEO Ed Bastian bet at the start of the pandemic that focusing o...
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85. Beyond Meat's Ethan Brown: How to teach your customer from 2021-04-05T09:00
As the founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, Ethan Brown has spent years navigating misconceptions about plant-based foods. But smart entrepreneurs listen instead of arguing. Only by obsessing over wh...
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Rapid Response: The trampoline effect, w/ Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman from 2021-04-01T09:00
Revenue for Morning Brew's booming email newsletter operation dried up when the pandemic hit, but its audience remained devoted. Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman, who started the business with co...
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84. Mark Cuban: What investors really look for from 2021-03-30T09:00
No one knows the fundraising game better than Mark Cuban, serial entrepreneur, investor, and star of Shark Tank. For founders, identifying the right source of capital, under the right terms, can...
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Rapid Response: The business of democracy, w/Leadership Now's Daniella Ballou-Aares from 2021-03-25T09:00
In recent months, business leaders have been pressed to take public positions on politics in ways they never have before. That's good for business and good for democracy, says Daniella Ballou-Aa...
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83. Disney’s Bob Iger: How acquisitions become an ecosystem, part 2 from 2021-03-23T09:00
From Pixar to Marvel to Lucasfilm, Disney's Bob Iger defied expectations, acquiring world-renowned brands and meshing them seamlessly with the House of Mouse. In Part 2 of our epic conversation ...
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Airbnb's Brian Chesky: "We died and were reborn." A special Rapid Response from 2021-03-16T09:00
Headlines last April predicted death for Airbnb. How could it survive a pandemic that stopped their core business cold? As the business cratered (in 8 weeks, they lost 80% of revenue), CEO Brian...
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82. Tyra Banks: Personal brand power from 2021-03-09T10:00
To succeed in the modern business environment, you need to strut your stuff: to cultivate a personal brand that supports career growth. No one represents this better than Tyra Banks. As a model,...
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Rapid Response: A prescription for healthy growth, with FIGS Co-CEO Heather Hasson from 2021-03-04T10:00
How does a start-up geared to healthcare workers balance giving back during Covid with the desire for growth? FIGS, an emerging lifestyle brand for medical professionals that built its name arou...
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81. Disney’s Bob Iger: How acquisitions become an ecosystem, part 1 from 2021-03-02T10:00
For any distinctive brand or business, it can be a challenge to expand reach without diluting what makes you special. No one has a keener understanding of this issue than Bob Iger, executive cha...
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Nike’s CEO John Donahoe on wartime leadership (Rapid Response) from 2021-02-25T10:00
When he became CEO on the eve of the pandemic, Nike's John Donahoe starting game plan revolved around listening and being out in the marketplace. But when lockdowns began rolling through, he qui...
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80. Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson: The secret to big leaps from 2021-02-23T10:00
Successful daredevils aren't really winging it, even if it looks that way from the outside. They have a method. No one knows this better – or does this better – than Sir Richard Branson, founder...
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A taste of Masters of Scale Season 8 from 2021-02-19T15:33:25
Our all-new season of Masters of Scale features iconic leaders and rising stars of scale companies. This season, Reid Hoffman trades theories with Disney CEO Bob Iger, model/mogul Tyra Banks, in...
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Rapid Response: Winning and losing, w/Vanderbilt University coach Jerry Stackhouse from 2021-02-18T10:00
Maintaining high performance in business has become harder than ever, between health challenges, economic obstacles, and political uncertainty. But we all still work to win. Jerry Stackhouse, co...
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Rapid Response: Public-private opportunities, with Defense Innovation Unit's Mike Brown from 2021-02-16T10:00
Call him the unofficial U.S. ambassador to Silicon Valley. As director of the Defense Innovation Unit within the U.S. Department of Defense, Mike Brown is tasked with bridging the gap between te...
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Rapid Response: Iterating under pressure, with Feeding America's Claire Babineaux-Fontenot from 2021-02-11T10:00
The pandemic era has ushered in a new wave of food insecurity, with some 50 millions Americans hungry for food aid. How could Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, meet the moment...
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Strategy Session: 5 burning questions&their unexpected answers w/Reid Hoffman&Bob Safian from 2021-02-09T10:00
How do you build expertise in new tech like quantum, crypto and AI? How much attention should you be paying to the stock market right now? How do you keep your company's culture fresh if yo...
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Rapid Response: Why we need to think again, w/Adam Grant from 2021-02-04T10:00
As we grapple with pandemic-charged change in business and as a society, we’ve become more fractured, more divisive, and more vulnerable. Adam Grant, best-selling author and professor at the Wha...
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79. How to be the steward of your idea, w/Affectiva's Rana el Kaliouby from 2021-02-02T10:00
Great entrepreneurs aren't just product obsessed; they're impact obsessed. Rana el Kaliouby, co-founder and CEO of Affectiva, has spent most of her career thinking about how to project – and ste...
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Rapid Response: Aggressive sustainability, w/Lynn Jurich, CEO of Sunrun from 2021-01-28T10:00
Expectations for solar are high under a Biden administration, says Lynn Jurich, CEO of the solar power company Sunrun. While Sunrun's stock price has quadrupled in the past year, Jurich faces no...
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78. How to master your emotions, w/Sam Harris from 2021-01-26T10:00
The biggest challenge for founders often isn’t winning the strategic game – it’s winning the mental game. For a master class in mastering your emotions, we turn to Sam Harris, author, neuroscien...
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Rapid Response: Ten months of pain and hope, w/restaurateur Danny Meyer from 2021-01-21T10:00
It's been an epic journey for iconic New York City restaurateur and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer. Forced by the pandemic into closures and layoffs last spring, as he poignantly shared in two ...
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Rapid Response: What the pandemic has cost women, w/Ellevest's Sallie Krawcheck from 2021-01-14T10:00
Amidst the devastating effects of the pandemic, one in five women has left the workforce, and the gender pay gap and wealth gap are expanding. There's a long-term cost to that inequity, says Sal...
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54. What's the hidden business behind your business? w/Rent the Runway's Jenn Hyman from 2021-01-12T10:00
Rent the Runway co-founder Jenn Hyman knows: Behind every successful business is another business backstage, one you might not expect. Rent the Runway is known for creating a glamorous "closet i...
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8 reliable lessons for unreliable times from 2021-01-07T10:00
If 2021 is even half as unpredictable as 2020 was, you'll need to dig deep into your resilience and wisdom to get through. We've pulled together this special episode of Masters of Scale to serve...
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2020: The Year in Review w/Reid Hoffman&Bob Safian from 2020-12-22T10:00
Our host, Reid Hoffman, and our editor at large, Bob Safian, in conversation about a pandemic-disrupted year filled with unexpected twists and lessons. From the rise (and risks) of remote work t...
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Rapid Response: Why Salesforce bought Slack, w/Salesforce's Bret Taylor from 2020-12-17T10:00
Salesforce's much-buzzed-about deal to acquire Slack for $28 billion goes back a decade, when Friendfeed founder Bret Taylor met Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield. Now Taylor is Salesforce's pr...
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57. Be a platform, w/Shopify's Tobi Lütke from 2020-12-15T10:00
The secret to massive scale? Be a platform. Build a virtuous cycle where everyone wins, and you’ll emerge the biggest winner of all. This is what Tobi Lütke did when he built Shopify – and then ...
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Rapid Response: Why take on a turnaround, w/Magic Leap’s Peggy Johnson from 2020-12-10T10:00
Why leave a storied tech icon to lead a troubled brand? As the pandemic deepened this summer, Peggy Johnson left a safe perch at Microsoft to take the helm of one-time startup darling Magic Leap...
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77. The secret power of onboarding, w/Canva's Melanie Perkins from 2020-12-08T10:00
Onboarding isn't just about employees. The often overlooked step-by-step process – to join a product or company – lays the foundation for everything that follows. No one knows this better than M...
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Rapid Response: Loneliness at work, w/Noreena Hertz from 2020-12-03T10:00
This is the loneliest century, says economist Noreena Hertz. Even before the pandemic forced us to stay home, loneliness was snaking its way through our lives, affecting everything from how we v...
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76. Building bridges to scale, w/Kind’s Daniel Lubetzky from 2020-12-01T10:00
Scaling isn’t only about scaling UP – it’s about scaling OUT: to new products, new verticals, new customers. And to do this, you’ll need to build bridges. No one knows this better than Daniel&nb...
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Rapid Response: Balancing Data with Gut Feeling, w/JetBlue's Joanna Geraghty from 2020-11-25T10:00
After suffering record shattering drops in revenue from Covid-19, JetBlue has had to rethink every plan and every assumption. Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue's president and chief operating officer, ex...
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3. Learn from every “no,” w/Walker&Company’s Tristan Walker from 2020-11-24T10:00
The best business ideas often seem laughable at first glance. So if you’re hearing a chorus of “no’s” – it may actually be a good sign. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Airbnb – they all sounded craz...
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Rapid Response: Why brands must take a stand, w/Wieden+Kennedy's Colleen DeCourcy from 2020-11-19T10:00
Legendary ad agency Wieden+Kennedy pioneered some of the most successful campaigns in history. But 2020 has raised the stakes for companies—and fundamentally changed how advertising works, W+K p...
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75. How to find hidden value that others miss, w/The Black List's Franklin Leonard from 2020-11-17T10:00
Forget looking for a needle in a haystack – instead, build a new type of metal detector, to find undervalued assets that others don’t see. That’s exactly what Franklin Leonard did when he starte...
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Rapid Response: A virtual-first workplace, w/Dropbox's Drew Houston from 2020-11-12T10:00
In-office engagement or remote flexibility? We don't need to choose, says Dropbox co-founder and CEO Drew Houston. Facing the biggest shift in work habits in half a century, Houston has embarked...
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74. Nike’s Phil Knight: How to sell without selling from 2020-11-10T10:00
Great branding is about identity – and it’s about matchmaking too. No one knows this better than the legendary co-founder of Nike, Phil Knight. When he and his partner, Hall of Fame track coach ...
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Rapid Response: Pandemic Planning, Phase Two, w/Dr. Bon Ku (Jefferson University Hospital) from 2020-11-05T10:00
With Covid-19 cases surging, businesses may be forced into a new wave of adjustments. Will the crisis-management tactics of spring and summer be successful as winter unfolds? Dr. Bon Ku, an ER p...
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Rapid Response: Small business – more stressed than ever, w/H&R Block's Jeff Jones from 2020-11-02T10:00
Small business is being taxed emotionally as well as financially, and that tax is rising, says H&R Block CEO Jeff Jones. As the pandemic hit, entrepreneurs did what entrepreneurs do: solved ...
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16. Build a more human internet, w/Caterina Fake from 2020-10-27T09:00
Internet pioneer Caterina Fake knows: Online communities are built one human connection at a time. As the founder, you need to establish guidelines and norms from Day One – because the tone you ...
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Rapid Response: When your business disappears overnight, w/Marriott’s Arne Sorenson from 2020-10-22T09:00
95% of your business disappears. What do you do? Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson recounts how the travel industry drastically changed last spring, with hotel bookings all but disappearing overnight. ...
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73. The Empathy Flywheel, w/Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar from 2020-10-20T09:00
A social network that limits your network? Yes. Meet Nextdoor, a hyperlocal social network that’s all about who you really are and where you really live. Although it goes against everything that...
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Rapid Response: Movie-theater drama has come to every business, w/Shelli Taylor, CEO, Alamo Drafthouse from 2020-10-15T09:00
As big movie chains shut down, Shelli Taylor's determined to keep her theaters open. With revenue at a trickle, the CEO of Alamo Drafthouse is negotiating daily with landlords and banks, and eve...
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72. Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales: To scale, find the right values from 2020-10-13T09:00
What's more important than product-market fit? Product-VALUE fit. If you choose the right values to drive product development, you'll draw the people, resources, and speed you need. It’s true fo...
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Rapid Response: The Covid test facts every CEO needs, w/Rajiv Shah (Rockefeller Foundation) from 2020-10-08T09:00
To safely re-open a business, you need more than masks. Covid testing is key – and the options are changing quickly. We found the most in-the-know person in public health to walk us through the ...
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71. YouTube's Susan Wojcicki: How to find – and keep – true north from 2020-10-06T09:00
When you scale at warp speed, it’s easy to lose your bearings. You have to establish your company’s true north, or the dizzying pace of growth will push you off course. No one knows this better ...
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Rapid Response: Your company is a citizen – it can act like one, w/Baratunde Thurston from 2020-10-01T09:00
The pandemic, social unrest, the U.S. election – everything affects your team and your business. And the stakes are only getting higher. How do you address race and diversity? Should your busine...
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70. How to build authentic connection at scale, w/Trevor McFedries&Lil Miquela from 2020-09-29T09:00
You might not know Trevor McFedries yet, but if you're on Instagram, you've probably met Miquela. She has millions of followers, hit singles and lucrative contracts with brands. But she’s not ac...
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Rapid Response: Healthy offices and the myth of remote-work productivity, w/Diane Hoskins (Gensler) from 2020-09-22T11:00
Is your office safe to re-open? How much space do you need? Is remote-work really more productive? Diane Hoskins is co-CEO of architecture firm Gensler, which advises businesses from Google to B...
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Rapid Response: Nothing matters but this. w/Eric Schmidt (frmr Google CEO) from 2020-09-15T11:00
"Until this problem gets fixed, all the other things that I care about, that you care about, are on hold.” In this must-hear interview, Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO (and now co-founder o...
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Rapid Response: What you can learn from how schools are pivoting, w/ Success Academy's Eva Moskowitz from 2020-09-08T11:00
The first day of school doesn't look the way it used to – in some cases, it might not be happening at all. As schools across the country start a new year, we're kicking off a new season with Eva...
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69. Peloton’s John Foley – How to turn skeptics into fans from 2020-08-25T11:00
Casual fans come and go. But converts stick with you – and spread the word. The trick is knowing how – and WHEN – to convert skeptics into super-fans. No one knows this better than Peloton co-fo...
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68. Why your company needs new rituals w/Shishir Mehrotra (YouTube, Coda) from 2020-08-18T11:00
You need more than a good product to scale – you need strong rituals. All companies have rituals, from holding all-hands meetings to measuring KPIs. The right rituals in the right places help bu...
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19. How to price your product to scale, w/ClassPass's Payal Kadakia from 2020-08-04T11:00:12
The price that bleeds your business could also save it. We're revisiting a classic episode with ClassPass' Payal Kadakia to focus something every entrepreneur struggles with: pricing. When you i...
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67. Be a painkiller AND a vitamin, w/Clara Shih (Hearsay Systems) from 2020-07-28T11:00:06
Some products are vitamins and some are painkillers – the best, though, are both. This is what Clara Shih, founder and CEO of Hearsay Systems, learned in the early years of her software startup....
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Rapid Response: Building a bridge over troubled waters, with Spelman College president Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell from 2020-07-18T11:00:08
How to keep students learning – and building their vital lifelong community bonds – in the middle of a pandemic? This is the question for Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, president of Spelman College....
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Strategy Session: How transparent should you be with your board? How do you boost morale in dark days? Is it time to blitzscale? from 2020-07-14T11:00:21
How do you take smart risks, how can you be transparent – but inspiring – with your board and your team, how do you keep up morale in what seem like the darkest days, and what does the future of...
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Rapid Response: Inside PayPal's $530M plan to close the racial wealth gap, with CEO Dan Schulman from 2020-07-11T11:00:05
The pandemic has hurt many businesses – but PayPal isn't one of them. PayPal has boomed as e-commerce has swelled, with stock up more than 50% this year and a huge new demographic joining the pl...
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Rapid Response: What it will take for tech and Hollywood to be anti-racist, w/Color Of Change's Rashad Robinson from 2020-07-09T11:00:14
There's no quick fix to 400 years of oppression, says Color Of Change president Rashad Robinson. One of the largest racial justice organizations in the US, Color Of Change works with decision-ma...
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Rapid Response: A new playbook for new times, w/Ford Foundation president Darren Walker from 2020-07-02T10:00:10
"This was like 1918, 1929 and 1968 in one week," says Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation. With the pandemic, economic crisis, and civil unrest all coming together after George Floyd...
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65. Stephen Colbert + DonorsChoose's Charles Best — The power of small goals from 2020-06-30T10:00:42
Startups are audacious. They’re big. They’re world-changing. But you can’t achieve scale on day one. Sometimes the best way to achieve that monumental success tomorrow is to take a teeny tiny st...
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Rapid Response: Burning cash, accepting turbulence w/Delta CEO Ed Bastian from 2020-06-27T11:00:04
A surprisingly candid and upbeat interview on the industry hardest hit by the pandemic. Delta saw seat bookings fall to less than 5% of normal, had 40,000 employees go on unpaid leave, and raise...
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51. Liberating the human spirit, w/Robert F. Smith (Vista Equity, Morehouse Commencement), Recorded live at Summit LA 2019 from 2020-06-23T11:00:20
Every great founder has a second purpose — something outside their main business they're trying to get done in the world. And every successful company is like a Trojan Horse, carrying this secon...
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Rapid Response: How business can engage against racism, w/Shellye Archambeau (MetricStream, Nordstrom, Verizon) from 2020-06-19T11:00:08
What can your business do right now in the struggle against racism? More than you think, says Shellye Archambeau, former CEO of MetricStream, now a board member at Verizon, Nordstrom and Okta. S...
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64. Build. Measure. Learn, w/Eric Ries of The Lean Startup and the LTSE from 2020-06-16T12:00:21
Forget writing that business plan. Design an experiment instead. So many products and companies fail because the assumptions in their beautiful business plans were just wrong. So stop writing an...
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Rapid Response: GM's Mary Barra: "Going ventilator fast" from 2020-06-13T13:00:12
GM is now reopening auto plants, after shutting them in March, temporarily reducing pay for 69,000 employees, and making a fast pivot to produce masks and ventilators. But with the killing of Ge...
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63. Strategy Session: The post-pandemic business, w/questions from Village Global and co-host Bob Safian, editor-at-large from 2020-06-09T13:00:11
How do you find new markets when your old ones stall? How do you stay agile when your team is overwhelmed? And do constraints always lead to creativity — really? In this Strategy Session recorde...
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Rapid Response: BuzzFeed’s Jonah Peretti: Record-high audience, record-low revenue from 2020-06-06T13:00:02
BuzzFeed audience is at record highs. But the pandemic's economic effects have crushed the bottom line. BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO Jonah Peretti shares how his company is making hard decisions ...
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Bonus: Reid’s 2020 Commencement Speech: In a crisis, steer toward the emerging opportunities from 2020-06-03T17:50:53
New graduates ?are like entrepreneurs — standing on the edge of that cliff, ready to build their own plane and fly. But what if the blue skies and calm winds disappear? In a commencement speech ...
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Rapid Response: Danny Meyer, 10 weeks later: How to revive restaurants from 2020-05-30T13:00:09
"Being the first to close is one thing. But I don't want to be the last to open,” says iconic restaurateur Danny Meyer in his second Rapid Response interview. After shutting his iconic New York ...
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Rapid Response: How "startup DNA" helped One Medical respond to Covid, with CEO Amir Rubin from 2020-05-28T13:00:02
Since One Medical’s IPO in January, CEO Amir Rubin has been forced to constantly adapt to the coronavirus pandemic, as healthcare needs, expectations, and behaviors shifted. From telemedicine to...
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Rapid Response: How Warby Parker is making decisions in uncertainty, with CEO Neil Blumenthal from 2020-05-23T13:00:17
"It's like getting hit in the face over and over and over,” says Warby Parker co-CEO Neil Blumenthal. But “crisis brings out clarity.” At Warby, planning for the future has meant leaning into th...
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61. How to unite a team, Part 2 w/Angela Ahrendts of Burberry, Apple from 2020-05-19T13:00:05
In Part 2, Angela arrives at Apple, which feels like another planet after her years in fashion. In never-before heard stories, Angela shares how she learned the language of tech (the physical st...
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Rapid Response: Future-proofing Verizon, with CEO Hans Vestberg from 2020-05-16T13:00:22
Data streaming, videoconferencing – even phone calls are way up at Verizon amid Covid-19, as digital interaction steps in for IRL. But boom times don't mean easy times for CEO Hans Vestberg, who...
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60. Apple's Angela Ahrendts: How to unite a team (Part 1) from 2020-05-12T13:00:15
The Apple logo. The iconic Burberry check. These images inspire loyalty of customers and employees alike. But it takes more than a beloved brand to power a company and motivate a team. No one kn...
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Rapid Response: Operating in a fishbowl w/Philly 76ers&NJ Devils CEO Scott O’Neil from 2020-05-09T13:00:13
In sports, everyone has an opinion on every hire, every trade, every price change. That’s the reality – and also the privilege, says Scott O'Neil, CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey De...
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Rapid Response: Crisis lessons from inside the ER, with Dr. Bon Ku from 2020-05-07T12:58:39
In the Covid-19 storm, treating hospital patients requires constant iteration, creative information-sharing, and worst-case-scenario planning. Dr. Bon Ku, an ER physician and director of the Hea...
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Rapid Response: Food security in a pandemic, w/Sara Menker of Gro Intelligence from 2020-05-05T12:59:37
Will the U.S. run out of food? Can the world's food supply chains survive coronavirus? Sara Menker, founder and CEO of Gro Intelligence, which parses 650 trillion agricultural data points daily,...
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Rapid Response: Inside Panera’s pandemic pivot, with CEO Niren Chaudhary from 2020-04-30T12:58:36
What do you do when you can’t serve customers in cafes and carry on business as usual? You try unusual things, says Panera CEO Niren Chaudhary. Forced to close cafes and restructure teams, Paner...
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Rapid Response: A crisis leadership session with General Stanley McChrystal from 2020-04-28T12:59:05
Everyone's looking for a box of crisis tricks. But the hard truth is that it simply doesn’t exist, says retired General Stanley McChrystal. Instead of looking for a new style, McChrystal says, l...
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Rapid Response: Pet adoptions: Up. Delivery business: Up. What that means to Chewy’s Sumit Singh from 2020-04-25T15:13:46
Pet adoptions have soared during the coronavirus lockdown, as people seek companionship and solace. For Chewy, the pet-supply company, that’s driving unprecedented demand. Ultra-rapid growth has...
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Rapid Response: Build government back – better, w/Jen Pahlka (Code for America, USDR) from 2020-04-23T20:59:01
In the US, local governments are leading the response to COVID-19 – making decisions and gathering data at a speed and scale never before seen. And many of them are asking Jen Pahlka for help. T...
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Rapid Response: Target’s Brian Cornell: “I want to see retail survive this” from 2020-04-20T21:01:30
Every day in a pandemic is different, and that’s true for people and for corporations. CEO Brian Cornell has promised Target will keep its doors open. To do that, Target is becoming "a good stud...
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Rapid Response: TaskRabbit's Stacy Brown-Philpot: “A pandemic doesn’t see money.” from 2020-04-18T16:57:15
TaskRabbit remains open for business, says CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot. As the magnitude and severity of the pandemic became clear – and as workers across the U.S. were furloughed and services cut –...
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Rapid Response: Lyft’s John Zimmer: How to keep an essential business running from 2020-04-16T20:53:54
Everything starts with transportation, says John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft. And even though ride sharing is sharply down, transportation remains key – for essential workers and fo...
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Rapid Response: Airbnb’s Brian Chesky: "Crisis is pushing us back to our roots" from 2020-04-13T22:03:51
As the pandemic hit, Airbnb was preparing for an IPO. Within a matter of days, everything changed dramatically, as travel worldwide screamed to a halt. “I felt like I was captain of a ship and a...
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Rapid Response: Fast pivots for changing needs w/DonorsChoose Charles Best from 2020-04-07T16:21:46
People are altruistic – even more so in times of uncertainty. This is what Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose, has learned through 20 years of leading his nonprofit through the terror...
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Rapid Response: Relief funding&crowdfunding in a crisis w/Karen Cahn of IFundWomen from 2020-04-04T16:01:14
What are your options for emergency funding in the US? Can you use the U.S. CARES Act to get financial assistance? Should you consider crowdfunding? We talk to Karen Cahn, CEO of IFundWomen, abo...
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Rapid Response: Crisis data is the story of our times, says Crisis Text Line founder from 2020-04-02T17:03:16
"Anxiety," "grief," "mom”: These are the words surfacing at this extreme moment in time. That data comes from Crisis Text Line, whose online counselors are using both empathy and aggregated data...
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Rapid Response: Hourly workers are a ‘hero class’ w/Cue Ball’s Tony Tjan from 2020-03-31T16:58:27
Hourly workers are the 'hero class,' says VC Tony Tjan. And the pandemic is wreaking havoc on their financial stability. At Boston’s Cue Ball Group, Tony’s portfolio includes companies that empl...
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Rapid Response: First, be human – Thoughts on the crisis from Reid Hoffman from 2020-03-26T22:16:23
Can you blitzscale when the world grinds to a halt? How do you do right by your team AND your investors? What will the entrepreneurial world look like on the other side of this? In this special ...
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Rapid Response: Danny Meyer on the wrenching decision to do layoffs from 2020-03-24T21:38:54
Last week, Danny Meyer laid off 2,000 people – that's 80 percent of staff at Union Square Hospitality Group, representing 20+ restaurants across the country. It was a heartbreaking decision made...
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Rapid Response: Remote teams, w/WordPress/Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg from 2020-03-18T18:30:13
The first in a series of special episodes with tools you need RIGHT NOW | Suddenly, many of us are remote workers. As companies radically reimagine their day-to-day in response to the pandemic, ...
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59. How to start a revolution, w/Bitcoin pioneer Wences Casares (Xapo) from 2020-02-27T20:00
What if your idea is so radical that people have trouble grasping what it is — or even believing it won't harm them? Every founder believes their product is revolutionary – and the more revoluti...
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58. Strategy Session: When to replace the founder, how to be a learn-it-all, when to take the "venture bet," w/questions from Endeavor Outliers and co-host Bob Safian, editor-at-large from 2020-02-20T20:27:26
Growth vs. innovation, scale vs. stability, founders vs, CEOs? Entrepreneurs want to know! In this month's Strategy Session, high-performing scale-ups from around the world ask Reid their most u...
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56. When to zoom in, when to zoom out, w/Josh Silverman (Etsy/eBay/Skype/Evite) from 2020-01-23T20:41:57
When do you see the forest? And when do you see the trees? Building a company to scale requires a delicate balance of macro and micro focus – and the skill to know where to focus when. Josh Silv...
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55. Strategy Session: When not to blitzscale, how to persuade your board to let you slow down, and: Are you in a Glengarry Glen Ross market? w/questions from Endeavor and co-host Youngme Moon of HBS from 2020-01-17T03:00
When's the right time for hypergrowth? Should you take investment when you don’t need the money? How do you deal with an exhausted team? Global entrepreneurs facing hyperfast growth ask Rei...
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Bonus: A Meditative Story from Reid Hoffman from 2020-01-13T20:30
How do you find joy in your life? Our host, Reid Hoffman, finds it through friendship, and the genuine, honest, and intimate conversations it brings. In this special episode of Meditative Story,...
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53. Bill Gates: The biggest success story you haven't heard (Part 2) from 2019-12-20T21:22:04
In Part 2 of this special two-part conversation, we’re talking with Bill Gates about the biggest success story ever told on the podcast. It was achieved not through Microsoft, but through the Bi...
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52. How to solve an impossible challenge, w/Megan Smith (US CTO, Google, shift7) from 2019-12-13T21:35:43
Faced with an impossible challenge? Don’t reinvent the wheel. Look for someone who’s already solved the problem, and lift them up. Megan Smith calls that technique “scout and scale.” She used it...
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51. LIVE! Find your Trojan horse, w/Robert F. Smith from 2019-12-05T03:00
Recorded live at Summit LA: Every great founder has a second purpose — something outside their main business they're trying to get done in the world. And every successful company is like a Troja...
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49. How to set the drumbeat, w/LinkedIn's Jeff Weiner from 2019-11-15T03:00
Every leader has to set the drumbeat for their company — the culture, mission, and values that get the entire team in sync. And the rhythm has to be true to them. Jeff Weiner is a master at this...
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48. Bill Gates: How to accelerate history (Part 1) from 2019-11-07T03:54:33
How did Bill Gates scale BOTH a global business and a global philanthropy? He spotted an inflection point in history — and accelerated it. What does that take? A great idea, great timing and als...
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46. LIVE! Patience or speed? Both. w/Tory Burch from 2019-10-17T02:00
Tory Burch built a billion-dollar business from the ground up, by speeding forward when others might have hit pause, and showing watchful patience when others may have gone full tilt. In our liv...
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23. Keep humans in the equation, w/TaskRabbit's Stacy Brown-Philpot from 2019-10-10T02:00
You may think that to scale you need to cut humans out of the equation. The opposite is true. You can harness the power of the "human cloud" to solve almost any problem — as long as you keep the...
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45. Strategy Session: How do you gain your users' trust? How do you build a team and company culture at the same time? w/questions from Entrepreneur First and co-host Jason Feifer of Entrepreneur magazine from 2019-09-26T02:00
How can I scale during a downturn? Should my company be a pirate or the navy? Reid Hoffman answers questions from early-stage entrepreneurs all over the world, asking questions specific to their...
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44. Take on Goliath — and win, w/Dropbox's Drew Houston from 2019-09-05T02:00
When Drew Houston founded Dropbox, he knew he faced some fierce competition (hello, Google, Apple and Microsoft). But he didn’t back down. Why? Because he believed in his product, and he knew he...
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Bonus: Recharge your brain with a Meditative Story by Arianna Huffington from 2019-08-06T02:00
As an entrepreneur, you have to find a way to recharge. This new podcast, from the creators of Masters of Scale, is designed to create calm amid an always-on schedule. The episode was inspired b...
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43. 23andMe's Anne Wojcicki: Embrace the gatekeepers from 2019-08-01T02:00
When Anne Wojcicki co-founded 23andMe, she carved out a brand-new space in personal health -- helping people become experts on their bodies right down to the DNA level. Then the federal regulato...
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42. Small changes with big impact w/Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble from 2019-07-18T02:00
Often a small tweak, a rethink of a feature, is what helps your product break out of the pack. Just ask the founder of the Bumble dating app, Whitney Wolfe Herd. She rebounded from one dating ap...
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41. Entrepreneurship as a second act, w/Gwyneth Paltrow from 2019-07-02T02:00
It’s never too late to join the entrepreneurial party. We've heard all the stories of young geniuses, but plenty of influential entrepreneurs founded companies in their 30s, 40s, 50s. There’s va...
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Bonus: 10 New Rules for Big Career Changes (The Graduation Episode) w/Jordan Harbinger from 2019-06-21T02:00
On Masters of Scale, we talk a lot about how businesses grow. But we also talk about how people grow: How key decisions (and happy accidents) can shape your future, and how your setbacks can act...
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40. How pirates become the navy, w/Uber's Dara Khosrowshahi from 2019-06-05T02:19:05
Early-stage startups are a lot like pirate ships – they need a buccaneering spirit to survive. But every startup needs to shed its pirate nature at some point, and evolve into something more aki...
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38. Open or closed? The answer is both, w/Joi Ito from 2019-04-30T02:00
No organization that’s entirely closed — or entirely open — can scale as successfully as an organization that combines both. Yes, it invites a bit of chaos – but chaos breeds innovation. Joi Ito...
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37. Take bigger risks, w/Shellye Archambeau from 2019-03-26T02:00
If you try to avoid risk, you actually risk total failure. Or worse: mediocrity. Take it from Shellye Archambeau. She led the most stunning Silicon Valley turnaround you’ve never heard of. She t...
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36. Check your blindspot, w/Sallie Krawcheck (Ellevest) from 2019-03-12T02:00
If your company's dominated by one type of person, you run the risk of tunnel vision. You might move fast — but you'll often drive straight into traps. Truly scalable companies need a diverse po...
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35. The Reid Hoffman Story (Part 2): Make everyone a hero from 2019-02-26T03:00
We’re back with Part 2 of our special turn-the-tables episode with Reid Hoffman. In this episode, we follow Reid through PayPal, LinkedIn, the Microsoft acquisition, his angel investments, Greyl...
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34. The Reid Hoffman Story (Part 1): Make everyone a hero from 2019-01-22T03:00
In this special episode, we turn the tables on host Reid Hoffman. He’s the guest and we tell his story, while proving a theory that’s perfect for Reid: You can chart an epic journey to scale, if...
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33. Let your customers be your scouts, w/Eventbrite's Julia Hartz from 2019-01-08T03:00
That constant roar of customer feedback? Be thankful for it. It holds all the secrets to your success, if you learn how to read the signs. Listen to what users say, sure. But also watch what the...
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32. To scale, you must master the skill of storytelling, w/Charity: Water's Scott Harrison from 2018-12-18T12:43:29
You need a great story to build a great company. And great stories are unwaveringly true. No one embodies this principle more fully than Scott Harrison, founder of Charity: Water. A master story...
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31. The Millennial Episode, w/Brit + Co's Brit Morin from 2018-11-19T03:00
You can marshal the power of millennials to grow your company, but you have to redefine your concept of loyalty. To keep millennials as users (and employees), you’ll need to keep evolving — and ...
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29. When to ignore conventional wisdom, w/Shake Shack's Danny Meyer from 2018-10-22T11:00
To revolutionize an industry, you have to cast off received wisdom. Shake Shack’s Danny Meyer knows this well. When he opened his first high-end restaurant in New York, Union Square Cafe, receiv...
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27. How to build trust fast, w/Spotify's Daniel Ek from 2018-09-19T02:00
Normally, trust = consistency + time. But when you're scaling fast, you have to find shortcuts to trust, with your partners and your users. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek knows a thing or two about this....
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26. Instagram's Kevin Systrom: Keep it simple while scaling big from 2018-09-06T02:00
You can scale big with a simple idea (and a tiny team!) — but only if you catch the prevailing winds. That's what Kevin Systrom did when he co-founded Instagram: The simple photo app tapped the ...
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25. How to make the star employees you need, w/Marissa Mayer from 2018-08-08T02:00:08
Can't find the star employees you need? Then make them. That's what Marissa Mayer did when she founded the Associate Product Manager program in the early days of Google — one of the company's cr...
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24. How to kill your bad ideas, w/Zynga's Mark Pincus from 2018-07-25T02:00
To succeed, you have to be relentless about pursuing a big opportunity — and ruthless about killing your own bad ideas along the way. Zynga founder Mark Pincus upended the gaming industry with s...
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21. How to do good and do good business, w/Starbucks' Howard Schultz from 2018-03-07T03:02:34
You can make your social impact and your bottom line work hand-in-hand. But you'll have to be as creative and innovative about your company's values as you are about the business itself. Howard ...
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Bonus: The 10 Commandments of Startup Success w/guest host Tim Ferriss from 2018-02-28T02:36:59
Guest host Tim Ferriss shares advice you’ll want to etch into stone: the Ten Commandments of Startup Success. We teamed up with Tim’s own podcast, Listen
20. Never underestimate your first idea, w/Twitter/Medium's Ev Williams from 2018-02-21T03:04:39
Never put a limit on your first idea. It could span your entire career. Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter and Medium (and before that: Blogger), shares what he learned in every iteration of his...
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19. How to price your product to scale, w/ClassPass' Payal Kadakia from 2018-02-14T03:10:14
The price that bleeds your business could also save it. When you invent something innovative, you can’t know how to price it on day one. First, get people in the door — get a LOT of people in th...
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18. How to build your company to last, w/Fiat's John Elkann from 2018-02-07T03:20:26
Forget being a unicorn. Learn to be a phoenix. Your company can last 100+ years — but you'll need the resilience to rise and fall, and rise again. Fiat’s chair John Elkann shares the principles ...
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16. Build a more human internet, w/Caterina Fake (Etsy, Kickstarter, Flickr, "Should This Exist?") from 2018-01-24T03:00
Whatever you are when you're small gets amplified when you grow. So if you're starting any kind of online community (social media, ecommerce, crowdfunding), be careful what you cultivate. C...
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15. Learn to unlearn (Part 2) w/Barry Diller from 2017-12-13T03:42:02
To move from one success to another, you have to learn to unlearn. Take everything that helped you win the first time, then discard it and learn a new way. That's how Barry Diller, a titan of "o...
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14. The infinite learner, w/Barry Diller (Part 1 of our interview) from 2017-12-06T03:30
Tinder. Top Gun. Roots. The Simpsons. What do they have in common? Media icon Barry Diller. Barry is what we call an "infinite learner." He’s only interested in things he's never done b...
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13. The Big Pivot, w/Slack's Stewart Butterfield from 2017-11-15T03:30
In your company’s darkest moment, remember: You CAN pivot from failure to success. But only if you slash and burn everything that isn’t working. Slack’s co-founder and CEO, Stewart Butterfield, ...
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12. Look for the ideas that come at you sideways, w/Diane Greene of Google, VMware from 2017-11-10T04:45
Business plan not entirely clear? Not sure how you’ll make enough money or find your users? That's OK. Really. The most scalable ideas often come at you sideways. You'll find yourself crabwalkin...
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11. Escape the competition, w/PayPal's Peter Thiel from 2017-11-08T03:30
If you want to grow your business, your goal isn’t to beat the competition — it’s to escape the competition altogether. No one knows this better than PayPal founder Peter Thiel. His theory? “Com...
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Bonus: Seven lesser-known laws of leadership from 2017-08-26T04:01
The Masters of Scale team brings you a special blend of leadership tips from Season One guests — including clips we haven’t aired yet. In this bonus episode, we’ll share our favorite insights fr...
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10. Let fires burn, w/Selina Tobaccowala of Gixo from 2017-07-19T04:01
In the early days of your startup, it feels like everything's on fire all the time. Real talk: if you try to put out every fire, every day, you’ll only burn yourself out. The best entrepreneurs ...
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9. The next Silicon Valley is...? w/Endeavor's Linda Rottenberg from 2017-07-12T04:59:24
What’s the secret to Silicon Valley's thriving startup scene? And can that kind of ecosystem happen anywhere else in the world? Linda Rottenberg, CEO of Endeavor, makes the case that a startup c...
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Bonus: The 10 Commandments of Startup Success w/guest host Tim Ferriss from 2017-07-05T04:00
Guest host Tim Ferriss shares advice you’ll want to etch into stone: the Ten Commandments of Startup Success. We teamed up with Tim’s own podcast, Listen
Bonus: The 10 Commandments of Startup Success w/guest host Tim Ferriss from 2017-07-05T04:00
Guest host Tim Ferriss shares advice you’ll want to etch into stone: the Ten Commandments of Startup Success. We teamed up with Tim’s own podcast, Listen
8. Why culture matters, w/Netflix's Reed Hastings from 2017-06-28T04:01
Strong company cultures only emerge when every employee feels they own the culture — and this begins even before the first job interview. CEO Reed Hastings has built an adaptive, high-performing...
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7. Your plan B needs a plan B, w/Crisis Text Line founder Nancy Lublin from 2017-06-14T04:00
To succeed, entrepreneurs need a good idea, timing, money, luck. But more than anything, they need the ability to generate an endless supply of Plans B, C, and D when Plan A doesn't come through...
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6. Innovation is managed chaos, w/Eric Schmidt of Google/Alphabet from 2017-06-07T04:00
Google has succeeded by innovating again and again. Their secret? They don’t tell their employees how to innovate; they manage the chaos. Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google since 2001 and now chair...
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5. Lead, lead again, w/Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg from 2017-05-31T04:00
In just 6 years, Facebook grew to 2 billion users and 14,000 employees. How? Well, first, they hired COO Sheryl Sandberg. And she knew that to lead a fast-changing organization, you have to be a...
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4. Imperfect is perfect, w/Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg from 2017-05-24T07:00
If you’re Steve Jobs, you can wait for your product to be perfect. For the rest of us, If you’re not embarrassed by your first product release, you’ve released it too late. Imperfect is perfect....
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3. Learn from every "no," w/Walker&Company's Tristan Walker from 2017-05-17T07:00
The best business ideas often seem laughable at first glance. So if you’re hearing a chorus of “No’s” — it may actually be a good sign! Google, Facebook, LInkedIn, Airbnb — they all sounded craz...
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2. Raise more money than you need, w/Minted's Mariam Naficy from 2017-05-10T07:00
Think you've raised enough money for your startup? Think again. You have to run through a minefield of unexpected expenses as an entrepreneur. And you never know where the big opportunity will c...
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1. Airbnb's Brian Chesky in Handcrafted from 2017-05-03T07:00
If you want your company to truly scale, you first have to do things that don't scale. Handcraft the core experience. Get your hands dirty. Serve your customers one-by-one. And don't stop until ...
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Coming Soon: Masters of Scale from 2017-04-18T19:21:37
Coming May 3rd, Reid Hoffman, legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor, explains how famous founders take their companies from zero to a gazillion. In this trailer for Season One, a taste...
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