Solv CEO and co-founder Heather Fernandez talks with Greylock marketing partner Elisa Schreiber about a unique fundraising strategy Solv undertook to add more women investors to the company's cap table. In late 2021, Solv was wrapping up its Series C round when Fernandez was encouraged by longtime investor and friend Kara Norton (Upfront Ventures) to launch a special purpose vehicle (SPV) aimed solely at women investors. Within 10 days, the SPV raised $3.5M from 75 women investors, 60% of whom were women of color and a majority were first-time investors. Fernandez and Schreiber discuss the process and provide a playbook for other entrepreneurs. You can read a transcript of this conversation here: You can watch a video of the conversation here: https://youtu.be/1KemFU4_vGo
A re-broadcast of our episode featuring Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky. Chesky joined Greylock partner Reid Hoffman on Greylock's Iconversations speaker series to talk about how he guided Airbnb from an 80% loss within the first two months of the pandemic to a record-breaking IPO by the end of 2020; why Silicon Valley needs to redefine how it measures growth; how Chesky’s design background informs Airbnb’s business strategy; and, ultimately, the importance of putting people first. You can read a transcript of this episode here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/airbnb-brian-chesky-people-first-capitalism/ You can watch the video of this interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKz9Aohljvw&list=PLnsTB8Q5VgnUtQ2Yc32sqgCr_pm77YGZr
A re-broadcast of our episode with Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman and his Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh discussing when, how, and why CEOs should speak publicly about political or social topics. Once considered strictly off limits to business leaders, speaking out about politics and social issues has become much more common. In fact, it’s now often expected for a CEO to make a statement that communicates their company’s values and position even on the most highly-charged or controversial topics. But getting it right requires careful consideration, as Reid and Chris discuss in detail. This conversation was recorded in 2020. You can read an essay from the conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/talking-politics/
Audio version of essay written by Greylock general partner Asheem Chandna for Forbes: "Where Does AI Go Next?" Chandna and several AI experts weigh in on the potential value and risks as the technology expands. Essay read by Greylock head of editorial Heather Mack. You can read the essay on Forbes here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/asheemchandna/2022/05/31/where-does-ai-go-next/ You can also read the essay on the Greylock website here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/where-does-ai-go-next/
Greylock general partner Mike Duboe speaks with Zhuoxun Yin (Zedd) and Jack Lu, two of the co-founders of NFT marketplace Magic Eden. The company, which just raised its Series B round, provides a platform for people to discover, collect, and trade NFTs on the Solana ecosystem. You can read a transcript of this episode here: https://greylock.com/portfolio-news/magic-eden/
Greylock general partner Jerry Chen speaks with HashiCorp CEO David McJannet about the proliferation of cloud services that requires a multi-cloud approach. Founded in 2012, HashiCorp is an provider of products that are foundational to mission-critical cloud applications and infrastructure. As such, the company has become an essential partner to numerous organizations ranging from startups to the Big 3 cloud providers. It is both a competitor and a collaborator, and is perhaps the best representation of the open-source, multi-cloud paradigm in which almost all companies now operate. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/powering-the-multi-cloudparadigm/ You can find the entire Castles in the Cloud project here: https://greylock.com/castles/
Convoy CEO and co-founder Dan Lewis discusses the current shipping landscape and how his company is upgrading the long-antiquated trucking industry. Convoy, which has developed a platform that puts drivers, shipping companies, and freight brokers on the grid has allowed all parties to operate more efficiently, resulting in saved costs and time as well as reducing pollution. Founded in 2015, Convoy now works with about 80,000 registered trucking companies (which collectively have some 400,000 trucks in their network), and in April raised $260 million in Series E funding. Greylock has been an investor since 2015, and general partner Reid Hoffman sits on the company’s board. You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/firm-news/convoy-transporting-innovation/
Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman and his Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yey discuss the current crisis and its impact on startups. Entrepreneurship assumes an innate degree of optimism and perseverance. But even the most determined founders can feel subdued when faced with yet another crisis. That’s why adaptability is a startup’s strongest asset. As recent global events push us into a new era of market volatility and economic uncertainty, companies must be prepared to recalibrate their business to the new reality. Whether that means pausing their hiring plans, tempering their expansion efforts, redirecting resources, or any other number of operational activities, today’s startup leaders should have a set of defensive and offensive tactics they can quickly deploy during times of crisis. You can read a transcript of this episode here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/crisis-management/
In his commencement speech to Vanderbilt University's graduating class of 2022, Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman discusses the impact and importance of friendship. "Not the Hallmark kind – not all sunshine and roses and bunny rabbits," says Hoffman. "I mean real, substantial friendship – that’s sometimes really hard – and that shapes and changes our lives." In this speech, Hoffman shares some of the key decisions and actions that friends helped him figure out to take, and which significantly impacted the course of his professional and personal life. You can read the full text of the speech here: https://greylock.com/firm-news/reid-hoffman-the-importance-of-friendship/
Audio version of the latest essay by Greylock investors' Jerry Chen and Jason Risch. As part of our ongoing Castles in the Cloud project, we’ve compiled and analyzed VC funding data into cloud-focused startups in 2021 and Q1 2022. We are mapping the activity in the venture capital-funded startup ecosystem with that of the Big 3 Cloud providers: AWS, Azure, and GCP. You can read the essay here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/vc-funding-for-the-cloud/ You can find the entire Castles in the Cloud project here: https://greylock.com/castles/