# Grit: the investor podcast, by episode

> Grit: Kleiner Perkins talking to founders and leaders about the hard parts of building. 297 episodes, each linked to the investors in it.

Source: https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/grit (Millionrounds; every figure on the page links to its filing or article)

Investors · new episode 19 Oct 2026

# Grit

Hosted by **Kleiner Perkins**

Kleiner Perkins talking to founders and leaders about the hard parts of building.

Follow on Apple PodcastsBrowse the episodes

**297** episodes

**124** investors heard as guests

**1h 5m** an average episode

31 in the last 12 months

## The regulars

Investors named as guests in the most episode titles on Grit.

[IF *4* **Ilya Fushman** Kleiner Perkins](https://millionrounds.com/person/ilya-fushman)[MH *4* **Mamoon Hamid** Kleiner Perkins](https://millionrounds.com/person/mamoon-hamid)[AJ *2* **Arvind Jain** Blockchain Venntures](https://millionrounds.com/person/arvind-jain)[EC *2* **Emilie Choi** Coinbase](https://millionrounds.com/person/emilie-choi)[GL *2* **Garrett Lord** Handshake](https://millionrounds.com/person/garrett-lord)[JC *2* **Jay Chaudhry** 2 episodes](https://millionrounds.com/person/jay-chaudhry)[JT *2* **Joe Thomas** 2 episodes](https://millionrounds.com/person/joe-thomas)[MR *2* **Mark Roberge** Stage 2 Capital](https://millionrounds.com/person/mark-roberge)[SH *2* **Sean Henry** 2 episodes](https://millionrounds.com/person/sean-henry)[AG *1* **Aidan Gomez** Cohere](https://millionrounds.com/person/aidan-gomez)[AG *1* **Ali Ghodsi** Databricks](https://millionrounds.com/person/ali-ghodsi)[AN *1* **Aman Narang** 1 episode](https://millionrounds.com/person/aman-narang)

## Every episode 297 · page 1 of 10

- 297 **The 20-Year Bet to Make Fusion Energy Work | Jeff Lawson** 19 Oct 2026 · 1h 7m [Jeff Lawson](https://millionrounds.com/fund/jeff-lawson) About this episode “Don’t go public without understanding your go-to-market.” Jeff Lawson reflects on Twilio’s go-to-market mistakes, including how the company generated hundreds of millions in revenue with just 7 sales reps. He also shares how AI is changing the economics of software and why he’s betting on fusion energy instead of… ▶Show page
- 296 **How Vercel Is Rethinking Go-to-Market With AI | COO Jeanne Grosser** 5 Oct 2026 · 1h 4m [Jeanne Grosser](https://millionrounds.com/person/jeanne-grosser) About this episode At Vercel, 91% of support volume is already resolved by an agent. After spending a decade at Google and another at Stripe, Jeanne Grosser shares how AI is changing the way Vercel goes to market. She also talks about the founder relationship as a “professional marriage,” what she looks for in a company she can stay… ▶Show page
- 295 **Inside the AI Startup Making Customer Support 65% Cheaper** 21 Sept 2026 · 1h 6m [Jesse Zhang](https://millionrounds.com/person/jesse-zhang) About this episode How do you keep up when you go from 50 to 500 employees in a year? Jesse Zhang shares how Decagon scaled that quickly, from hiring ahead of demand to keeping the company connected as the team grows. He also explains why the zero-to-one phase is so different from scaling, and how Decagon found its way out of the idea… ▶Show page
- 294 **The AI Race Has a Leaderboard | Arena CEO Anastasios Angelopoulos** 7 Sept 2026 · 1h 0m About this episode AI could be bigger than electricity. Anastasios Angelopoulos is seeing that shift firsthand, with Arena ranking 500+ models and tracking roughly 10 new releases every week. On Grit, he explains why there may never be one dominant AI model and why the API layer may be less sticky than people think. Guest: Anastasios… ▶Show page
- 293 **Data Centers in Orbit by 2028: Baiju Bhatt on His Plans After Robinhood** 24 Aug 2026 · 1h 13m [Baiju Bhatt](https://millionrounds.com/person/baiju-bhatt) About this episode What kind of founder walks away from a multi-billion-dollar fintech company to start building rockets? Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, joins Joubin Mirzadegan to talk about life after one of the most consequential companies in modern finance, and why he's now betting on Cowboy Space Corporation, an orbital… ▶Show page
- 292 **Booking.com CEO on AI and the Future of Travel** 10 Aug 2026 · 51 min [Booking Holdings](https://millionrounds.com/fund/booking-holdings)[Glenn Fogel](https://millionrounds.com/person/glenn-fogel) About this episode "Our mission is to make it easier for everybody to experience the world." From the dot-com crash to AI, Glenn Fogel has spent nearly three decades helping Booking Holdings evolve through every major technology shift while staying true to that mission. He also shares with Joubin Mirzadegan why "you're always… ▶Show page
- 291 **Ex-Twitter CEO on Why AI Needs a New Internet | Parag Agrawal** 27 Jul 2026 · 1h 1m About this episode "The answer to every problem is a model." Parag Agrawal shares the ideas behind Parallel: products that continuously learn, and teams designed around versatile problem solvers. He also shares why he built an AI agent for himself, and why AI's biggest opportunity is expanding what people can achieve. Guest: Parag… ▶Show page
- 290 **The Sales Framework Every Founder Needs | Mark Roberge** 13 Jul 2026 · 1h 23m [Mark Roberge](https://millionrounds.com/person/mark-roberge) About this episode "There's 20 fires going on at every moment in the office and you have enough water to put out four." Mark Roberge shares what it takes to build and scale a company, from finding product-market fit to knowing when it's time to grow. He also shares the framework behind his new book, The Science of Selling, and why… ▶Show page
- 289 **Airwallex's Jack Zhang on Fintech, Failure, and Growth** 29 Jun 2026 · 1h 12m About this episode In 2020, Airwallex lost nearly half its revenue overnight. Today it's worth $11 billion. Jack Zhang reflects on the decisions that kept the company alive, raising capital during uncertainty, and leading through its toughest chapter. This episode is a candid look at why Jack chose to keep building, even when a $1.2… ▶Show page
- 288 **Why 80% of the Fortune 100 Chose Qualtrics | Ryan Smith** 15 Jun 2026 · 1h 13m About this episode AI may change software overnight, but company building still takes time. Ryan Smith explains why, despite the pace of AI, “the race is going to be way longer than anyone thinks.” He reflects on Qualtrics surviving multiple market cycles and ultimately being acquired by SAP for $8 billion days before going public.… ▶Show page
- 287 **What It Takes to Build Software for 171,000+ Restaurants | Aman Narang** 1 Jun 2026 · 1h 17m [Aman Narang](https://millionrounds.com/person/aman-narang) About this episode Great software companies often come from understanding pain points at a very deep level. On Grit, Aman Narang shares how Toast built trust with 171,000+ restaurant operators by helping restaurants manage everything from payments and online orders to staff scheduling and daily operations. He also reflects on lessons… ▶Show page
- 286 **What It Takes to Build a Generational Company | Anduril’s Trae Stephens** 18 May 2026 · 56 min [Trae Stephens](https://millionrounds.com/person/trae-stephens)[Founders Fund](https://millionrounds.com/fund/founders-fund) About this episode Founder quality becomes more important as startups become easier to build. Trae Stephens, co-founder of Anduril and partner at Founders Fund, has spent years backing founders with strong conviction, including most recently at Roadrunner. He shares why too much capital too early can hurt startups, and why the best… ▶Show page
- 285 **How AIG Is Reinventing Insurance With AI | Peter Zaffino** 4 May 2026 · 56 min [Peter Zaffino](https://millionrounds.com/person/peter-zaffino) About this episode What does it take to run a company where the business is risk itself? In conversation with Joubin Mirzadegan, Peter Zaffino shares what the role demands at AIG, including high stakes decisions, constant responsibility, and sacrifice. This episode looks at his journey as CEO ahead of his transition to Executive… ▶Show page
- 284 **From Airbnb to Linear: How Karri Saarinen Redefined Product Design** 20 Apr 2026 · 1h 17m [Karri Saarinen](https://millionrounds.com/person/karri-saarinen-2)[Josh Coyne](https://millionrounds.com/person/josh-coyne) About this episode In a market that hadn’t changed in decades, Linear didn’t win by being faster. They won by being more thoughtful. Karri Saarinen helped shape design at Airbnb and Coinbase before building Linear around small teams and high standards. On Grit, he shares how Linear is building for a new era of software development.… ▶Show page
- 283 **How Kevin Mandia Built the Most Trusted Name in Cybersecurity** 6 Apr 2026 · 1h 2m [Kevin Mandia](https://millionrounds.com/person/kevin-mandia)[Josh Coyne](https://millionrounds.com/person/josh-coyne) About this episode What does security look like when attackers use AI better than you do? Armadin recently raised $200M to build for the “attacker of the future,” where attacks are autonomous and harder to contain. On the Kleiner Perkins Grit podcast, Kevin Mandia joins Joubin Mirzadegan to share how he’s thinking about this shift,… ▶Show page
- 282 **The Silicon Valley Insider In The Pentagon | DoW Emil Michael** 23 Mar 2026 · 41 min [Emil Michael](https://millionrounds.com/fund/emil-michael) About this episode Emil Michael went from scaling Uber across 600 cities to rewiring the world's largest military. In the midst of the Pentagon-Silicon Valley debate, the now U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering opens up about what a real partnership demands from both sides. He also shares how he's built three… ▶Show page
- 281 **How Sierra Is Pulling Ahead in the AI Race | Co-founder Bret Taylor** 9 Mar 2026 · 1h 13m [Bret Taylor](https://millionrounds.com/fund/bret-taylor) About this episode Few founders have seen Silicon Valley from every seat at the table. After co-creating Google Maps at Google, serving as CTO at Facebook, and later as co-CEO of Salesforce, Bret Taylor is now building AI agents at Sierra to redefine customer experience. On Grit, he explains why “competitive intensity” is a core value… ▶Show page
- 280 **The AI Era of Cybercrime: How Malwarebytes Is Evolving Its Security Stack | Marcin Kleczynski** 23 Feb 2026 · 1h 3m [Marcin Kleczynski](https://millionrounds.com/person/marcin-kleczynski) About this episode What began as a 14 year old fixing infected computers became Malwarebytes, an 800 person cybersecurity company trusted by millions of customers. On Grit, Marcin Kleczynski joins Joubin Mirzadegan to explore AI driven cyber threats, strategic reinvention, and the discipline of evolving before the market forces you to.… ▶Show page
- 279 **The Truth Behind Automation Claims in Customer Support | Cresta CEO Ping Wu** 9 Feb 2026 · 43 min [Ping Wu](https://millionrounds.com/person/ping-wu) About this episode Can you scale customer support without burning out agents or frustrating customers? Ping Wu shares how Cresta combines AI and human intelligence into a single system that scales sustainably for companies like United Airlines and Porsche. In this episode, Ping also breaks down the three constraints that shape… ▶Show page
- 278 **The Safest Dollar on the Internet | Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire** 26 Jan 2026 · 1h 6m [Jeremy Allaire](https://millionrounds.com/person/jeremy-allaire) About this episode USDC closed the gap between software and law in modern finance. On Grit, Jeremy Allaire discusses how fully reserved, dollar backed digital currency became part of the financial system after more than a decade of work. He also shares why for him grit is about sustaining belief through deep uncertainty, even when… ▶Show page
- 277 **Why We’re Only Using 1% of AI | Glean CEO Arvind Jain** 12 Jan 2026 · 59 min [Arvind Jain](https://millionrounds.com/person/arvind-jain) About this episode Glean has grown into a $7.2B company by giving employees AI assistants and agents that extend their capabilities. CEO Arvind Jain is back on Grit alongside Joubin Mirzadegan. Here’s what stood out: “My mindset by default is that if you build something last year, that it's got to be obsolete. There has to be a new… ▶Show page
- 276 **The Grittiest Conversations of 2025: AI, Business & Beyond** 29 Dec 2025 · 41 min [Aidan Gomez](https://millionrounds.com/person/aidan-gomez)[Ben Chestnut](https://millionrounds.com/person/ben-chestnut)[David Rubenstein](https://millionrounds.com/person/david-rubenstein) About this episode In this recap episode, we highlight the best moments from our 2025 interviews and reflect on the ideas that defined the year. Featuring: David Rubenstein (co-founder of Carlyle) Yamini Rangan (CEO of HubSpot) Ben Chestnut (co-founder of Mailchimp) Winston Weinberg (co-founder and CEO of Harvey) Garrett Lord… ▶Show page
- 275 **How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader** 22 Dec 2025 · 50 min [Ilya Fushman](https://millionrounds.com/person/ilya-fushman) About this episode What happens when AI becomes your most influential referrer? As consumers turn to ChatGPT for answers, James Cadwallader and his team at Profound help brands like Eight Sleep and MongoDB gain visibility and leverage inside AI models. On this episode of Grit, he explains why brand narrative has shifted away from… ▶Show page
- 274 **How Snap Plans to Win the AR Race | Evan Spiegel on Spectacles** 15 Dec 2025 · 1h 11m [Evan Spiegel](https://millionrounds.com/person/evan-spiegel)[Bing Gordon](https://millionrounds.com/person/bing-gordon) About this episode Turning down a $3B offer from Facebook is a bold move for any young CEO. Evan Spiegel shares how Snap’s early dream was to stay independent and give its community an authentic voice, a bet that proved right. He also explains why they are now doubling down on AR glasses and why the anxiety around AI deserves far more… ▶Show page
- 273 **The Pull to Build: Joubin Mirzadegan on Grit and Starting Roadrunner** 8 Dec 2025 · 1h 14m [Mamoon Hamid](https://millionrounds.com/person/mamoon-hamid) About this episode What does it take to go from advising founders to becoming one? On this week’s special Reverse Grit episode, we flip the script and put our Grit podcast host Joubin Mirzadegan in the guest seat. Joubin recently founded Roadrunner, where he is now co-founder & CEO. Roadrunner is building an AI‑native CPQ to modernize… ▶Show page
- 272 **Building Cloudflare for the Next 50 Years | Co-founder Cloudfare Michelle Zatlyn** 1 Dec 2025 · 58 min About this episode Fifteen years in, it can still feel like “we’re just getting started.” Michelle Zatlyn, co-founder of Cloudflare, returns to Grit with Joubin Mirzadegan to share how Cloudflare secures the internet for millions, with a vision built to last generations. She also shares why staying close to reality and to customers… ▶Show page
- 271 **She Sold Her Startup for $500 Million, Here’s Her Next Idea** 24 Nov 2025 · 1h 12m [Brynn Putnam](https://millionrounds.com/person/brynn-putnam) About this episode Screens have pulled families apart. Brynn Putnam set out to bring them back together with Board, the world’s ‘first face-to-face game console.’ On Grit, she tells Joubin Mirzadegan how every venture she’s built, including Mirror, started as a personal need, and how her true edge is the ability to strip an idea down… ▶Show page
- 270 **Synthetic Data and the Future of AI | Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez** 17 Nov 2025 · 1h 12m [Aidan Gomez](https://millionrounds.com/person/aidan-gomez) About this episode How do companies like Salesforce and Dell scale intelligence across every cloud? Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Cohere, explains how they’re building AI that works across all enterprise systems and deploys anywhere, giving companies true flexibility and security. He joins Joubin Mirzadegan for a wide-ranging… ▶Show page
- 269 **From Yext to Roam: Howard Lerman’s Second Act** 10 Nov 2025 · 1h 26m [Howard Lerman](https://millionrounds.com/person/howard-lerman) About this episode The hardest company to build is the one you start after you’ve already succeeded. After scaling Yext into a platform powering millions of businesses, Howard Lerman chose to start over with Roam, the “Office of the Future,” where humans and AI work side by side from anywhere. On Grit, he joins Joubin Mirzadegan to… ▶Show page
- 268 **Rebuilding Front for the AI Era | CEO Dan O’Connell** 3 Nov 2025 · 60 min About this episode The hardest part of transformation is knowing what to let go of. Dan O’Connell, now leading Front as CEO and formerly on the board at Dialpad, joins Joubin Mirzadegan to explore the delicate balance between legacy and innovation as he leads a decade old company through the AI revolution. He also reflects on why… ▶Show page

## Who the show talks about

Firms named in its episodes, and people named in descriptions: talked about, rather than on the show.

[J **John Doerr** *11*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/john-doerr)[**Elon Musk** *9*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/elon-musk)[J **Jeff Bezos** *7*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/jeff-bezos)[B **Bill Gates** *6*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/bill-gates)[F **Frank Slootman** *6*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/frank-slootman)[P **Parker Conrad** *6*](https://millionrounds.com/person/parker-conrad)[B **Bing Gordon** *5*](https://millionrounds.com/person/bing-gordon)[M **Marc Benioff** *5*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/marc-benioff)[M **Mark Zuckerberg** *4*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/mark-zuckerberg)[P **Paul Graham** *4*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/paul-graham)[S **Sam Altman** *4*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/sam-altman)[S **Scott Cook** *4*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/scott-cook)

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