Rocketship.fm

Mental models are how we understand the world. Not only do they shape what we think and how we understand but they shape the connections and opportunities that we see. Mental models are how we simplify complexity, why we consider some things more relevant than others, and how we reason. A mental model is simply a representation of how something works. We cannot keep all of the details of the world...

Mental models are how we understand the world. Not only do they shape what we think and how we understand but they shape the connections and opportunities that we see. Mental models are how we simplify complexity, why we consider some things more relevant than others, and how we reason. A mental model is simply a representation of how something works. We cannot keep all of the details of the world...

The fastest vaccine ever developed was the mumps vaccine and that took four years, from collecting viral samples to licensing the drug in 1967. This year, we watched as BioNTech, in partnership with Pfizer, developed the Covid-19 vaccine is under 11 months. Today we tell the story of how this revolutionary technology and partnership allowed for such rapid development at a time when the world neede...

The fastest vaccine ever developed was the mumps vaccine and that took four years, from collecting viral samples to licensing the drug in 1967. This year, we watched as BioNTech, in partnership with Pfizer, developed the Covid-19 vaccine is under 11 months. Today we tell the story of how this revolutionary technology and partnership allowed for such rapid development at a time when the world neede...

The  history of Nintendo  traces back to 1889, when it was founded to produce handmade hanafuda. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (任天堂株式会社,  Nintendō kabushikigaisha ) is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It eventually became one of the most prominent figures in today's video game industry, being the world's largest video game company by revenue. Today w...

The history of Nintendo traces back to 1889, when it was founded to produce handmade hanafuda. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (任天堂株式会社, Nintendō kabushikigaisha) is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It eventually became one of the most prominent figures in today's video game industry, being the world's largest video game company by revenue. Today we ex...

Zappos was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn who launched the company with Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin who invested $2 million through their investment firm Venture Frogs. The company was officially launched online in 1999 as "ShoeSite.com." In July 1999, the company's name was changed from ShoeSite to Zappos after "zapatos," the Spanish word meaning "shoes." In 2000, Venture Frogs invested in the bu...

Zappos was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn who launched the company with Tony Hsieh and Alfred Lin who invested $2 million through their investment firm Venture Frogs. The company was officially launched online in 1999 as "ShoeSite.com." In July 1999, the company's name was changed from ShoeSite to Zappos after "zapatos," the Spanish word meaning "shoes." In 2000, Venture Frogs invested in the bu...

In the early 2000's eBay was in direct competition with Amazon but they had very different methodologies when approaching the market. Today we dive into some of the mistakes eBay made in this time where they caught themselves focusing on the wrong metrics and ultimately the wrong side of the market. These mistakes ultimately led to the huge differences in the trajectory of where these companies ar...

In the early 2000's eBay was in direct competition with Amazon but they had very different methodologies when approaching the market. Today we dive into some of the mistakes eBay made in this time where they caught themselves focusing on the wrong metrics and ultimately the wrong side of the market. These mistakes ultimately led to the huge differences in the trajectory of where these companies ar...

When it was launched in 2005, according to co-founder Steve Chen, Youtube was designed as a way for people to upload videos of themselves talking about the partner of their dreams. Co-founder Jawed Karim also talked about YouTube’s romantic origins. “We even had a slogan for it: Tune in, Hook up.” Despite offering to pay women $20 to upload videos of themselves to YouTube, nobody came forward, for...

When it was launched in 2005, according to co-founder Steve Chen, Youtube was designed as a way for people to upload videos of themselves talking about the partner of their dreams. Co-founder Jawed Karim also talked about YouTube’s romantic origins. “We even had a slogan for it: Tune in, Hook up.” Despite offering to pay women $20 to upload videos of themselves to YouTube, nobody came forward, for...

Long before Airbnb persuaded strangers to sleep in one another's homes and became a $31 billion company, it was just an idea to earn a bit of extra money to make rent. After their first guests, Airbnb's founders realized they were on to something bigger than a stopgap for rent. They faced rejection plenty of times — and created their own version of Obama O's cereal — but the three founders of Airb...

Long before Airbnb persuaded strangers to sleep in one another's homes and became a $31 billion company, it was just an idea to earn a bit of extra money to make rent. After their first guests, Airbnb's founders realized they were on to something bigger than a stopgap for rent. They faced rejection plenty of times — and created their own version of Obama O's cereal — but the three founders of Airb...

Stark, a New York-based startup that lets designers others building with design software run their files through an integrated tool that checks it and provides color edits and other suggestions to help them meet guidelines for people who see less well, has picked up $1.5 million. Stark plans to use the funding to continue building integrations into commonly-used design apps and create integrations...

Stark, a New York-based startup that lets designers others building with design software run their files through an integrated tool that checks it and provides color edits and other suggestions to help them meet guidelines for people who see less well, has picked up $1.5 million. Stark plans to use the funding to continue building integrations into commonly-used design apps and create integrations...

Back in 2008, SEMrush started as a small group of SEO and IT specialists united by one mission — to make online competition fair and transparent, with equal opportunities for everyone. In 12 years, they've grown into one of the world's leading competitive research service for online marketing. Today we tell the story of that journey. This podcast is brought to you by: Digital Ocean is a cloud prov...

Back in 2008, SEMrush started as a small group of SEO and IT specialists united by one mission — to make online competition fair and transparent, with equal opportunities for everyone. In 12 years, they've grown into one of the world's leading competitive research service for online marketing. Today we tell the story of that journey. This podcast is brought to you by: Digital Ocean is a cloud prov...

Rapid iteration, A/B testing, and growth hacking—these buzzwords have everyone’s attention in product management today. But while they dominate the current discussion, something even more significant has been lost in their limelight: long-term value creation for the customer. Product advisors Rajesh Nerlikar and Ben Foster believe that consistently delivering meaningful outcomes requires a deep un...

Rapid iteration, A/B testing, and growth hacking—these buzzwords have everyone’s attention in product management today. But while they dominate the current discussion, something even more significant has been lost in their limelight: long-term value creation for the customer. Product advisors Rajesh Nerlikar and Ben Foster believe that consistently delivering meaningful outcomes requires a deep un...

Millions of businesses of all sizes—from startups to large enterprises—use Stripe’s software and APIs to accept payments, send payouts, and manage their businesses online. Today we explore, how their founders, Patrick and John Collison started from humble beginnings in County Tipperary, Ireland to becoming the worlds youngest self-made billionaires. This podcast is brought to you by: Digital Ocean...

Millions of businesses of all sizes—from startups to large enterprises—use Stripe’s software and APIs to accept payments, send payouts, and manage their businesses online. Today we explore, how their founders, Patrick and John Collison started from humble beginnings in County Tipperary, Ireland to becoming the worlds youngest self-made billionaires. This podcast is brought to you by: Digital Ocean...

In the aftermath of World War II, Japan must rebuild its economy. Certain products become vital exports in the revitalization effort, including the wristwatch. Seiko leaps to the forefront of the recovery, but there's a problem: their watches aren't good. The company decides to bring R&D in-house to take advantage of constructive competition between its factories, and winds up going from indus...

In the aftermath of World War II, Japan must rebuild its economy. Certain products become vital exports in the revitalization effort, including the wristwatch. Seiko leaps to the forefront of the recovery, but there's a problem: their watches aren't good. The company decides to bring R&D in-house to take advantage of constructive competition between its factories, and winds up going from industry...

Flow was launched in 2012 as a side-project from Andrew Wilkinson 's creative agency Metalab, who work with companies such as Uber, Slack and Coinbase, in order to improve their own internal productivity. They faced a huge challenger in Asana who launched just after them after raising $28 million dollars. Asana may have out spent them on marketing, but Flow stayed one stop ahead in terms of produc...