David Risher, Lyft’s CEO, doesn’t wake up thinking about Uber. He wakes up thinking about the 160 billion rides Americans take in their own cars each year. “That’s my biggest competition,” he told Prof G Markets. “Inertia. The couch. Your own car. …
When Taylor Swift wore a Popflex skort, Cassey Ho didn’t scream. She went numb. “I couldn’t even feel anything because I was feeling everything,” she recalls. It was the kind of moment founders dream about — a viral spike, 16,000 preorders, and indu…
After years of building programs within corporate walls, Shelley Simkins finally listened to the inner voice—and her friends—telling her it was time to build something of her own. That leap of faith birthed Proquesto, a platform transforming the cha…
“My banker has never asked me for my report card.” That single sentence from Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, encapsulates his decades-long frustration with traditional education — and his call to arms for a new kind of fi…
“You only have to be right one time.” – Mark Cuban In a wide-ranging interview with Emma Grede on Aspire, Mark Cuban peeled back the curtain on what it really takes to build a business that lasts — and why most people just aren’t cut out for it…
After two decades in the Marine Corps, Mike Vincent didn’t chase a new title—he answered a deeper calling. Now co-leading Kaleo Coaching, he helps leaders move from burnout to clarity by aligning with their strengths and leading from identity. In th…
When the world feels chaotic, it’s tempting to think we’re sliding backwards. But listen to Bill Gates long enough, and one thing becomes clear: progress is not only possible—it’s already happening. And for entrepreneurs, this era might be the most …
David Black didn’t just leave a job—he reclaimed his freedom. What began as a bold leap away from corporate constraints evolved into Ready Set Search, a performance marketing agency helping underdog brands punch above their weight. In this edition o…
To most of the world, Gordon Ramsay is a storm of expletives and intensity — the culinary king of brutal honesty. But behind the heat is a relentless internal drive. A demand for excellence that, as Ramsay explains on High Performance, has nothing t…
After a pivotal return from maternity leave, Ana Arguello realized that settling for less wasn’t an option—not for her, and not for the future she envisioned for her daughters. Fueled by clarity, purpose, and a dash of boldness, she launched Taylor …
Before Klarna became one of Europe’s most valuable fintech companies, before “buy now, pay later” became a global movement — Sebastian Siemiatkowski was a high school graduate scrubbing floors in Sweden. On the Acquired podcast, Klarna’s co-founder…
When Adam Neumann speaks, it’s with the same hypnotic charisma that once helped propel WeWork to a $47 billion valuation — and then, infamously, to one of the most spectacular startup flameouts in modern history. On a recent episode of The a16z Pod…
Ann Edwards transformed years of frustration in traditional healthcare into a visionary wellness brand that’s redefining how we heal—inside and out. At TherAnnu, she bridges clinical care with high-tech spa treatments, offering a powerful alternativ…
Elizabeth Gilbert is best known for her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love — but for founders and creatives, her real brilliance might lie in how she navigates purpose, fear, and boundaries. In an intimate interview on The Tim Ferriss Show, Gilbert…
After years in the tech world, Arthur “Artie” Chang saw a persistent problem—fragmented communication systems that left businesses lagging behind. Fueled by a vision to unify and elevate customer engagement, he founded PanTerra Networks. The launch …
When Perry Chen first pitched the idea behind Kickstarter, it wasn’t about scaling a tech company. It was about staging a concert. He was living in New Orleans and wanted to bring in the DJ duo Kruder & Dorfmeister for a show. But the risk — upfron…
After years of leading high-stakes tech transformations, Megan Maloney took a leap from corporate constraints to entrepreneurial freedom. A pivotal betrayal on a major project lit the spark, but it was her first independent pitch that sealed her ide…
In a wide-ranging interview on Remarkable People, LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock partner Reid Hoffman opened up about the past, present, and future of entrepreneurship. From war stories at PayPal to AI's potential to uplift society, Hoffman offere…
"If this is the future of design, I'm changing careers." That’s what one early reviewer said about Figma—a real-time, collaborative design tool that Dylan Field, then just 19, dropped out of Brown University to build. In a deeply personal interview…
Dave Olsen’s entrepreneurial evolution began with a bold question: “Why can’t you have both?” That mindset shift sparked the creation of Nimbl, a modern accounting firm built to liberate founders from the grind of back-office chaos. His journey—from…
In a world eager to anoint its next CEO, Stacey Brown-Philpott chose something harder—and more enduring. After leading TaskRabbit through a successful acquisition by IKEA, she turned down a flurry of elite job offers and instead went silent. Literal…
Caroline Breeding’s path from loyal employee to bold founder is marked by a deep commitment to both people and purpose. After nearly a decade scaling someone else’s business, she launched Intuitive Learning Solutions to revolutionize education for p…
In an episode of the a16z Podcast, music producer Rick Rubin joins Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz—not to talk about beats or bands—but about coding, AI, and ancient wisdom. Yes, that Rick Rubin—founder of Def Jam, architect of hip hop’s rise, and…
Erik Barnett’s journey from protecting his mom’s hacked computer to launching HomeSirens—an “internet security officer in a box”—is a masterclass in mission-driven innovation. What began as a personal problem quickly evolved into a plug-and-play cyb…