Best Eric Ries Podcasts (2025)

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Escaping the Zero-Sum Economy: A New Model for Local Prosperity | Zita Cobb 1:24:23

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13d ago1:24:23

1:24:23

Zita Cobb grew up on Fogo Island, a remote fishing community off the coast of Newfoundland that operated for centuries without cash. Her childhood was shaped by a deep sense of place, the collapse of the inshore fishery, and a belief that communities survive through mutual care. When she left to study business, and later helped build JDS Uniphase i…

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HotelTonight Founder: How Sam Shank Built & Sold a $400M Travel App (And What He's Building Next) 47:28

7d ago47:28

47:28

In this episode of the Something Ventured podcast, I talk with Sam Shank, the founder of HotelTonight—the groundbreaking last-minute hotel booking app that was acquired by Airbnb in a deal reportedly valued at nearly half a billion dollars. Sam takes us on an incredible journey: from his early days in Hollywood as a production assistant on Wes Crav…

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The Ultimate Guide for Creating Products People Trust | Seth Goldman (Honest Tea) 1:03:38

1M ago1:03:38

1:03:38

Most companies scale by cutting corners. Seth Goldman built a brand by refusing to. Seth is one of the founders of Honest Tea, a longtime chair at Beyond Meat, and the cofounder of Just Ice Tea. His career has been defined by a belief that business can be a force for human and environmental good. From a thermos of tea brewed in his kitchen to natio…

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Lee Edwards of Root VC: "Let's get Technical!" -- An Engineer Becomes a VC 1:00:19

1M ago1:00:19

1:00:19

Lee Edwards is a General Partner at Root VC, a San Francisco-based deep tech seed fund. They recently raised their 4th fund of $190 million. But before he became a venture capitalist, Lee was an engineer. He was most recently CTO at Teespring. Previously, Lee was a mechanical engineer at iRobot, a software engineer at Pivotal Labs, Lead Engineer at…

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How the Former U.S. CTO Built a $3B Healthcare Company Powered by Love | Todd Park 1:32:24

2M ago1:32:24

1:32:24

Most companies optimize for profit. Devoted Health was built to serve people. In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Todd Park, co-founder of Devoted Health and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer, to explore what it looks like to design a company for human flourishing at scale. Todd shares how Devoted earned one of the highest tru…

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The G.O.A.T.s of Kindness on Bootstrapping a Purpose-Driven Company | Dr. Brent Ridge & Josh Kilmer-Purcell 1:01:47

2M ago1:01:47

1:01:47

Most companies talk about purpose. Beekman 1802 made it their operating system. In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, co-founders of Beekman 1802, to explore how a small act of compassion grew into a multimillion-dollar skincare brand rooted in community and purpose. After losing their Manha…

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1517 Fund: The Maverick VC Betting on Teens to Outbuild Ivy Leaguers 56:29

2M ago56:29

56:29

In this episode of the Something Ventured podcast, I spend time with Danielle Strachman and Michael Gibson, the people behind 1517 Fund. 1517 is a venture capital firm that defies Silicon Valley's fixation on elite credentials from Stanford, Harvard and the like. Their paths to venture capital are anything but typical. Danielle shares how her 20 ye…

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From Fired CEO to Billion-Dollar Exit: How Lukas Biewald Turned Failure into the Future of AI 1:05:54

3M ago1:05:54

1:05:54

Lukas Biewald has been shaping the future of AI for nearly two decades. In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, we explore how his early passion for the board game Go, his hard-won lessons as a founder, and his focus on alignment and culture helped him build Weights & Biases into a trusted toolmaker in machine learning. In our conversation, we discu…

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How to move beyond bureaucracy, not waste talent, and innovate faster | Michele Zanini & Gary Hamel 1:37:17

3M ago1:37:17

1:37:17

Bureaucracy was once a breakthrough. Today, it’s become a costly drag on innovation, human potential, and business impact. In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini, authors of Humanocracy, to explore how organizations can move beyond outdated management models and unlock true human thriving. Hamel and Zan…

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From Blacksmith to Billionaire: The Making of Patagonia’s Ethos 1:28:48

3M ago1:28:48

1:28:48

Patagonia has always been different. While so many companies lose their way when profits come before people, the planet, or even their own products, Patagonia continues to stay true to its values. In today’s episode of The Eric Ries Show, I speak with journalist David Gelles, author of Dirtbag Billionaire, his new book about founder Yvon Chouinard.…

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Frank Rotman: The Midas List Veteran on Building Fintech Empires at Capital One and QED Investors 50:47

4M ago50:47

50:47

In this episode I talk with Frank Rotman, Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer of QED Investors, a leading fintech-focused venture capital firm managing $4.3 billion that has backed over 200 companies. A seven-time Forbes Midas List honoree, Frank shares his remarkable journey—from shaping Capital One's groundbreaking, data-driven strategy…

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“AI Will Break the Internet” — Cloudflare CEO’s Big Prediction 1:18:58

4M ago1:18:58

1:18:58

What if your company’s mission turned out to be bigger than you imagined? In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I speak with Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, now a $70 billion company defending 20% of all internet traffic. We trace how Cloudflare’s mission wasn’t declared at the start, but discovered through a series of principled…

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Idea Maze or Insanity? with Anjan Katta, Founder of Daylight 1:19:53

5M ago1:19:53

1:19:53

I had never met Anjan Katta before entering his apartment a few months back. It was some combination of office, shrine, and looney bin plucked from the Charlie Conspiracy episode of Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Despite the absolute chaos surrounding us, the vibe was calm and the energy was high. Clearly this was a founder who had seen some things …

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Inside Vercel: The $3B giant that’s changed coding forever 1:19:17

5M ago1:19:17

1:19:17

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Guillermo Rauch, CEO and founder of Vercel—a company powering the front end of the internet for brands like OpenAI, Nintendo, Chick-fil-A, and many more. Guillermo’s journey began far from Silicon Valley, in Argentina, where a Red Hat Linux CD changed the course of his life. We talk about how ope…

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The Modern Startup Playbook with Grant Lee, CEO of Gamma 1:08:57

5M ago1:08:57

1:08:57

Miss us? Feels like it's been a few weeks since we’ve had something new to share. This week, we’re excited to share a video we recorded just before the release of First of Kind. Grant Lee fits the profile of a founder indie is built to support: worked in investment banking, and joined a hot YC startup that didn’t end up being the rocket ship they’d…

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Eric Ries: The Lean Startup Revolution in an AI-Driven World 55:41

5M ago55:41

55:41

Eric Ries, entrepreneur and author of the bestselling book "The Lean Startup," ignited a movement that reshaped how founders and corporations build and scale businesses worldwide. Drawing from his experiences in Silicon Valley startups, Ries introduced a methodology centered on rapid experimentation and iterative development that encouraged entrepr…

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How GitLab scaled to 30M users with transparency, remote work, and the ultimate employee handbook | Sid Sijbrandij 1:33:29

6M ago1:33:29

1:33:29

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Sid Sijbrandij, co-founder and Executive Chair of GitLab—one of the world’s most radically transparent and values-driven software companies. Sid shares how GitLab evolved from an open-source side project into a publicly traded DevOps platform, all while remaining deeply aligned with its values. F…

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Turning down $200 million and the big bets that led to powering 40% of the internet 1:10:48

6M ago1:10:48

1:10:48

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic and co-founder of WordPress, the open-source platform that now powers 43% of the internet. Recorded on the 20th anniversary of Automattic, our conversation is a deep dive into what it takes to build enduring companies on top of open infrastructure. We explore Mat…

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The playbook for fixing toxic culture, pointless friction, and broken systems | Bob Sutton (Stanford, NYT bestselling author) 1:27:34

7M ago1:27:34

1:27:34

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Bob Sutton, organizational psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of several influential books on leadership, behavior, and workplace culture, including his latest: The Friction Project. We explore insights from across his body of work, including real-world examples of large organizat…

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The pitch that changed air travel forever: $3B in preorders, Richard Branson’s backing, and the return of supersonic flight | Blake Scholl (Boom Supersonic) 1:26:59

7M ago1:26:59

1:26:59

What does it take to challenge a century-old status quo in aviation? In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, a company on a mission to bring back supersonic air travel—sustainably and affordably. Blake doesn’t come from aerospace. He’s a computer scientist and former Amazon engineer w…

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Kobie Fuller: Upfront Ventures Partner's High-Speed Sprint from Track Star to Venture Capital Powerhouse 44:15

8M ago44:15

44:15

Kobie Fuller is a partner at Upfront Ventures. He came to the firm after investing at Accel and leading marketing efforts at EVOLVE, the large global fashion ecommerce platform. Highlights from our conversation. -- we covered a lot of ground, so this is just a small part: Kobie's Athletic Background and Vision for Track and Field: Kobie, a former t…

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The Hidden Costs of Pay Inequality, And How Leading Companies are Solving It | Maria Colacurcio (Syndio) 1:13:57

8M ago1:13:57

1:13:57

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Maria Colacurcio, Co-Founder and CEO of Syndio, a workplace equity analytics platform. Syndio helps companies close pay gaps and build high-trust organizations. Maria has had a long career in leadership, previously co-founding Smartsheet and serving as a senior leader at Starbucks, where she focu…

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A Process for Having it All with Jason Jacobs 1:05:44

8M ago1:05:44

1:05:44

Jason Jacobs wants it all. As a father to young children, he wants to be active in their lives, but as an ambitious founder, he’s compelled to build and chase down opportunities that often require sacrificing the time with his family that he longs for. This is not a new tension for a repeat founder, but the current moment has presented Jason with a…

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Lessons on co-founding Twitter, Medium and Blogger with Ev Williams 1:22:17

8M ago1:22:17

1:22:17

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Ev Williams—someone whose work has profoundly shaped the modern internet. Ev co-founded Twitter, created Medium, and before all that, built Blogger, the original blogging platform (and the one where my own blog, Startup Lessons Learned, still lives today). We cover a wide range of topics, but a…

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The playbook for building a business to $1M/month with 3 employees, hiring great leaders, and rejecting Silicon Valley’s rules | Jess Mah (Rahway) 1:24:29

9M ago1:24:29

1:24:29

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I'm joined by Jess Mah, an extraordinary entrepreneur who launched her first six-figure business in middle school and went on to co-found more than 10 companies collectively valued at over $1 billion. Jess rose to public acclaim and earned a spot on Forbes' 30 Under 30 while privately facing the reality that h…

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David Anderman: Space (Investing) is Big. Really Big. From Lucasfilm's Star Wars to SpaceX to…The Final Frontier 58:34

9M ago58:34

58:34

David Anderman is co-founder and General Partner of Stellar Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage space technology startups. He spent 16 years at Lucasfilm Ltd., creator of the Star Wars franchise. As Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, he notably negotiated Lucasfilm's $4 billion sale to Disney in 2012. Moving from imagi…

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Riding an AI Rocketship with Mikey Shulman, CEO of Suno 57:55

9M ago57:55

57:55

Mikey Shulman is having a great time. He’s running a rocket ship of a company, has $100M+ in funding from some of the top VCs, and is working on an opportunity that he’s passionate about. Mikey hit my radar because of a text from my friend TJ. His firm was an early backer of Suno, and he said that if any company they work with was going to hit our …

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The Hired CEO with Founder Mode | Marten Mickos (MySQL, HackerOne) 1:32:37

9M ago1:32:37

1:32:37

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Marten Mickos, a serial tech CEO who has been at the forefront of some of the most transformative moments in open-source technology. From leading MySQL through its groundbreaking journey to guiding HackerOne as a pioneering bug bounty platform, Marten's career is a masterclass in building innov…

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Discovering What Your Company Wants to Be with Mike Salguero, CEO of ButcherBox 1:12:26

9M ago1:12:26

1:12:26

Today’s conversation with Mike Salguero went in a direction I really wasn’t anticipating. Initially, I was interested in talking to Mike because he’s lived multiple lives as a Founder. First, buying and then raising 10s of millions for a crafts persons marketplace called Custommade.com. Then, after winding down Custommade, starting what he would te…

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How To Raise $125M Pre-Revenue and Why Harder Can Be Easier | Celine Halioua (Loyal) 1:40:25

9M ago1:40:25

1:40:25

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I'm joined by Celine Halioua, founder and CEO of Loyal, a groundbreaking biotech startup developing drugs to extend dogs' healthspan and lifespan. Celine's journey combines her passion for animals with a bold scientific mission that looks beyond pets to potentially transform human longevity as well. Our conver…

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Inside UiPath’s $1.5B ARR Journey – Bootstrapping the company, hiring challenges, and the billion-dollar pivot (Daniel Dines) 1:35:37

10M ago1:35:37

1:35:37

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Daniel Dines, the Founder and CEO of UiPath, a company that started in robotic process automation (RPA) and is now making a bold shift into agentic AI. Dubbed “the boss of bots” by Forbes, Daniel has led UiPath from its humble beginnings to a $6.65 billion company that’s reshaping the future of…

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From First Meeting to Funded in One Week 50:41

10M ago50:41

50:41

By Bryce Roberts

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Skipping from Pre-Seed to Series A with Dreadnode 1:09:02

10M ago1:09:02

1:09:02

"Would you be mad at us if we raised more money?" That was the text I got late one night from Will Pearce, co-founder and CEO of Dreadnode, a company we'd funded about nine months prior. I'd gotten to know Will through a cold DM he sent me. The DM had nothing to do with tech or investing, just starting a conversation. At the time, Will was working …

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From Bootstrapping to $400 Million – The Hustle Behind Hipcamp with Alyssa Ravasio 1:28:47

10M ago1:28:47

1:28:47

In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Alyssa Ravasio, CEO and Founder of Hipcamp. Hipcamp is the platform that has revolutionized camping, with a mission to “get more people outside.” By making it easier for people to find camping on public lands—and then expanding to include private lands—Hipcamp significantly increased the supply o…

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Where Are They Now with Scott Heiferman, Founder of Meetup 57:47

10M ago57:47

57:47

It is incredibly rare to have your startup become a verb. Google and Uber immediately come to mind. But what about when a group of strangers or friends with shared interests decide they want to get together? They, Meetup. Scott Heifferman didn’t set out with becoming a verb in mind but he certainly started Meetup with the intent of building somethi…

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Cyan Banister: The Future is Cool Again / Falling in Love with Technology / A Brush with Star Wars 1:06:05

10M ago1:06:05

1:06:05

Cyan Banister of Long Journey Ventures is truly one of the most successful and interesting early stage venture investors. And by 'successful investor', I mean "invested early in Uber and SpaceX" kind of successful. She overcame a challenging childhood that included periods of homelessness (a surprisingly uplifting story, covered deeply in Tim Ferri…