Greymatter

Working remotely often means back-to-back scheduled meetings and a constant barrage of text and email notifications. The result is exhaustion. But that doesn't mean coworkers don't want to talk to one another. Ad-hoc conversations are energizing and foster stronger team connections, which is why Remotion built a video workspace designed to enable colleagues to virtually "glance over" at one anothe...

Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman discusses the ABZ planning framework, a key concept from his book The Startup of You. Hoffman revisits the concept for 2020 - which he refers to as "The Age of the Inconceivable" – offering a systematic approach to adaptation that allows for the pursuit of goals while also maintaining the ability to quickly course-correct when external shocks or unexpected dis...

The technology industry is home to an unacceptable paradox: the sector is both the epicenter of wealth creation and wealth disparity. This gap begins in the early stages of company-building, among venture capital-backed startups and the people who found, build and invest in them. People of color have largely been left out of this group. Changing that reality is the mission of career advancement no...

Enabling efficiency has always been at the heart of Zapier’s mission: the automation software startup was founded specifically to serve as the lynchpin platform between myriad web apps, allowing people to focus on their core projects without getting bogged down with mundane tasks. Moreover, the company has been distributed from the get-go, and has found that the requisite digital tools, meeting st...

At the SaaStr Annual event (held virtually this year) Greylock general partners David Wadhwani and Sarah Guo discussed the key elements to successfully navigating operational phase shifts, which David has experienced numerous times over the course of his two-decade career as a software executive at companies such as AppDynamics and Adobe. David detailed 5 things every company and founder should do...

Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman shares his experience during PayPal's numerous pivots, and outlines how pivots have built some of the iconic tech companies in modern history. Hoffman describes how pivots are an integral part of the entrepreneurial process for startups: Whether you're pivoting in the early days because you haven't yet found product-market fit, or you're pivoting by reinventin...

The nature of work today is increasingly dynamic, distributed, flexible, and digital-first. Relying on the extended workforce is more than a short-term, stop-gap solution: businesses are finding this population to be an efficient, viable source of talent instrumental to their core operations. That's why Utmost developed the first ever extended workforce system (EWS) to help enterprises source, eng...

This episode of Greymatter features Reid Hoffman in conversation with Peter High, president of business and IT strategy firm Metis Strategy. In the context of the current pandemic and economic crisis, Reid and Peter discuss strategies and insights for entrepreneurs on building, developing and strengthening their ecosystem (while offering the same level of support and insight back); the importance...

Productivity software startup Coda was founded to empower anyone to make a document as powerful as an app, no engineering required. Now that many businesses have no choice but to be distributed, Coda has seen accelerating adoption as a central collaboration hub within companies. Coda CEO and co-founder Shishir Mehrotra discusses with Greylock general partner Sarah Guo why he believes “the world ru...

Greylock general partner and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and his Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh discuss one the most common outcomes of startups: Failure. But although failure is often the default state for startups, it is neither inevitable nor is it necessarily the end of the story. Even if you are able to bring yourself to look failure in the eye, you can take steps to maximize your chan...

Since Covid-19 first hit, Solv Health has played an instrumental role in helping healthcare organizations connect virtually with patients to provide telemedicine and same or next-day clinic appointments (as well as myriad administrative services such as contactless payments and digital paperwork). CEO and co-founder Heather Fernandez said the sudden, widespread shift to telemedicine meant Solv wen...

In an increasingly politicized world, it’s harder and harder for CEOs to keep business and politics separate. And in an increasingly politicized world, they shouldn’t. When an issue creates risks that are severe, broad in scope, and systemic in impact, business leaders have an obligation to speak up, especially if the issue clashes with the company’s ethics, culture, and vision for the future. Rei...

Figma was founded in 2012 with a mission to connect designers virtually, enabling collaboration and communication no matter where they were in the world. Fast forward to 2020, and that original operational intent has paved the way for the company to expand significantly in the face of Covid-19’s impact on the working world. Figma CEO and co-founder Dylan Field sat down with Greylock general partne...

Greylock general partners Reid Hoffman and Sarah Guo discuss the all-important topic of raising early stage capital (with updated guidelines for the current economic environment). From understanding what metrics matter to team-building and reference-checking potential board members, this Greymatter episode provides entrepreneurs practical advice and unique insight from some of Silicon Valley's mos...

We're more reliant on technology than ever. But there's always room for improvement. How should entrepreneurs approach product development at a time like now, when the Covid-19 pandemic has sparked an acute need for innovation in tools for seamless collaboration, communication and everything else? Greylock partner David Thacker, who previously held product leadership roles at iconic tech companies...

Today’s entrepreneurs find themselves falling from the cliff and assembling a plane with tools that are on fire while being attacked by a swarm of murder hornets. Yet despite the increased risks, entrepreneurs are still taking those leaps of faith, for which we should all be grateful. Greylock partner Reid Hoffman and his Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh explore how to help and encourage those ent...

NOTE: Throughout this episode, the company is referred to as "Clubhouse". In 2021, the company re-branded to Shortcut(https://shortcut.com/) Software startup Shortcut (previously named Clubhouse) built its product specifically for distributed teams, and the company had a high percentage of employees working remotely even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. But Shortcut CEO and co-founder Kurt Schrader...

Reid Hoffman shares his perspective on the fundamental choice that all venture-backed entrepreneurs face simple: M&A or IPO? Fortunately, there is one approach that allows you to build to go public AND to sell. You can read the essay based on this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/reid-hoffman-ma-or-ipo/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Greymatter, Okta CEO and co-founder Todd McKinnon talks with Greylock partner Sarah Guo about leadership lessons for times of dramatic change, and how his team is meeting the surge in customer demand for Okta since Covid-19 hit. Todd, who left his job leading engineering at Salesforce in 2009 to start Okta, a Greylock portfolio company, reflects on the platform shifts that convi...

Months into the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the top questions on entrepreneurs’ minds is whether venture capital firms are still making investments. The short answer is “Yes,” but the details are important enough that the partners of Greylock thought it was worth exploring in greater depth. On the latest episode of Greymatter, Greylock investors Reid Hoffman and Saam Motamedi sat down with Blitzscal...

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tech startup Quora had a strong office culture and discouraged employees from working remotely most of the time. But once the company had no choice, Quora CEO and co-founder Adam D'Angelo says they discovered the benefits of working from anywhere far outweigh the drawbacks. In late June, Quora announced it would become a remote first company. Adam discusses the deci...

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the environment for entrepreneurship. In many ways, entrepreneurship has become more challenging; in a few ways, and for a few people, it has become easier. For all of us among the broader society, it has become more important. The pandemic has shown us the harsh reality of the world as it is. That new clarity may allow entrepreneurship to make more rapid progress...

Box CEO and co-founder Aaron Levie sat down with Greylock General Partner Sarah Guo on Greymatter to discuss his company’s journey during the past decade leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, how it has changed their product roadmap, and where he believes the opportunities for innovation still lie. This episode is part of Greymatter's #WorkFromAnywhere series hosted by Greylock partners Sarah Guo a...

Reid Hoffman offers advice for the Class of startups in 2020. While there is a tendency for pundits to say that everything has changed, and that we’re in a new world, Reid posits that more is actually the same than different. Converting challenge into opportunity is a normal part of the entrepreneurial journey, and right now is precisely when people with entrepreneurial skills are accomplishing am...

This episode of Greymatter is part of a series of conversations with Greylock-backed health technology startups. This episode features Pranay Kapadia, the CEO and co-founder of Notable Health, which has created software to automate one of the most out-dated, costly and time-consuming parts of healthcare: administration. Notable partners with health systems to replace manual, in-person workflow sys...