Masters of Scale
730 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★★ - 3.7K ratingsOn Masters of Scale, iconic business leaders share lessons and strategies that have helped them grow the world's most fascinating companies. Founders, CEOs, and dynamic innovators join candid conversations about their triumphs and challenges with a set of luminary hosts, including founding host Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock partner). From navigating early prototypes to expanding brands globally, Masters of Scale provides priceless insights to help anyone grow their dream enterprise.
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Episodes
Let Fires Burn w/ Gixo's Selina Tobaccowala
July 19, 2017 04:01 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBIf you try to put out every fire, you’ll only burn yourself out. The best entrepreneurs? They let fires burn. Knowing which problems not to solve is just as critical as knowing which problems must be solved. You won’t have time to sit down and assess every blaze burning around you. And good luck ranking your startup’s problems from most to least severe. The reality is problems flare up unexpectedly and on a daily basis — yesterday’s whisp of smoke might be today’s five-alarm fire. S...
10. Let fires burn, w/Selina Tobaccowala of Gixo
July 19, 2017 04:01 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBIn the early days of your startup, it feels like everything's on fire all the time. Real talk: if you try to put out every fire, every day, you’ll only burn yourself out. The best entrepreneurs know how to let some fires burn. Selina Tobaccowala, veteran leader of Evite, SurveyMonkey and the fitness startup Gixo, shares her insights on how to choose which problems not to solve, and how to conserve your energy for the biggest blazes. Read a transcript of this episode: https://master...
The Next Silicon Valley Is...? W/ Endeavor's Linda Rottenberg
July 12, 2017 04:59 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBWhat’s the secret to Silicon Valley? And can any other region nurture such a thriving startup scene? Linda Rottenberg, CEO of Endeavor, makes the case that a startup culture can be nurtured almost anywhere, so long as you have the raw ingredients — namely, a few initial entrepreneurs with access to capital and a willingness to pay it forward. Bear in mind that Silicon Valley is so much more than an archipelago of thriving tech companies. It’s actually an ecosystem — one that’s deepl...
9. The next Silicon Valley is...? w/Endeavor's Linda Rottenberg
July 12, 2017 04:59 - 41 minutes - 37.8 MBWhat’s the secret to Silicon Valley's thriving startup scene? And can that kind of ecosystem happen anywhere else in the world? Linda Rottenberg, CEO of Endeavor, makes the case that a startup culture can be nurtured almost anywhere, so long as you have the raw ingredients — starting with a few initial entrepreneurs with access to capital and a willingness to pay it forward. From Buenos Aires to Boston, Tel Aviv to Shenzen, hear Linda's stories of global startup scenes that could gi...
Bonus: The 10 Commandments of Startup Success w/guest host Tim Ferriss
July 05, 2017 04:00 - 1 hour - 82.8 MBGuest host Tim Ferriss shares advice you’ll want to etch into stone: the Ten Commandments of Startup Success. We teamed up with Tim’s own podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, to bring you this special remix of actionable lessons from Masters of Scale Season One, including previously unaired insights from Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Endeavor’s Linda Rottenberg. Tim is the author of The 4-Hour Work Week and Tools of Titans, and a veteran TED speaker. He’s masterful...
Bonus Episode: The Ten Commandments of Startup Success
July 05, 2017 04:00 - 1 hour - 82.8 MBGuest host Tim Ferriss shares advice you’ll will want to etch into stone: the Ten Commandments of Startup Success. We teamed up with Tim’s eponymous podcast, the Tim Ferriss Show, to bring you this special remix of actionable lessons from every episode of Masters of Scale, Season One, including previously unaired insights from Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Endeavor’s Linda Rottenberg. Tim is an accomplished speaker who’s given multiple TED Talks and author of...
BONUS: Uncut interview w/ Netflix's Reed Hastings
June 29, 2017 22:50 - 51 minutes - 47.6 MBHost Reid Hoffman visits Netflix's headquarters for an extended interview with the company's founding CEO, Reed Hastings. They discuss the distinctive culture that enabled Netflix to leap from DVD's to online streaming to becoming a content-production studio that blends the wisdom of Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
8. Why culture matters, w/Netflix's Reed Hastings
June 28, 2017 04:01 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBStrong company cultures only emerge when every employee feels they own the culture — and this begins even before the first job interview. CEO Reed Hastings has built an adaptive, high-performing culture at Netflix by being unabashedly upfront about who they are and who they aren’t. The company’s famous “culture deck” offered a 100-slide description of how Netflix sees itself — not as a family, but as a high-performing sports team. It won’t appeal to everyone — and that’s the point. ...
Netflix's Reed Hastings in Culture Shock
June 28, 2017 04:01 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBI believe strong company cultures only emerge when every employee feels they own the culture — and this begins even before the first job interview. CEO Reed Hastings has built an adaptive, high-performing culture at NetFlix by being unabashedly upfront about who they are and who they aren’t. The company’s famous “culture deck” offers a 100-slide description of how NetFlix sees itself — not a “family” but a high performing sports team. It won’t appeal to everyone — and that’s the poi...
BONUS: Uncut Interview w/ Crisis Text Line's Nancy Lublin
June 15, 2017 22:51 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBIn this extended interview, Nancy Lublin, founding CEO of Crisis Text Line, shares insights from her restless career as a serial entrepreneur, recruiting armies of volunteers to the causes she’s passionate about.
BONUS: Uncut Interview w/Nancy Lublin
June 15, 2017 22:51 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBIn this extended interview, Nancy Lublin, founder and former CEO of Crisis Text Line, shares insights from her restless career as a serial entrepreneur, recruiting armies of volunteers to the causes she’s passionate about.
7. Your plan B needs a plan B, w/Crisis Text Line founder Nancy Lublin
June 14, 2017 04:00 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBTo succeed, entrepreneurs need a good idea, timing, money, luck. But more than anything, they need the ability to generate an endless supply of Plans B, C, and D when Plan A doesn't come through. Nancy Lublin has scaled three successful not-for-profits: Dress for Success, DoSomething.org and Crisis Text Line. She shares the tenacious approach to technology and financing that have helped these organizations scale. Read a transcript of this interview at: https://mastersofscale.com/na...
Grit Happens with Crisis Text Line's Nancy Lublin
June 14, 2017 04:00 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBTo succeed, entrepreneurs need a good idea, timing, money, luck. But more than anything, they need grit. Don’t confuse grit with sheer persistence; it’s not about charging up the same hill, again and again. The sort of grit you need to scale a business is less reliant on brute force. It’s actually one part determination and one part ingenuity — the ability to generate an endless supply of Plans B. And Nancy Lublin has a boundless supply of grit, which fueled her success scaling three...
Grit Happens w/Nancy Lublin
June 14, 2017 04:00 - 33 minutes - 30.5 MBTo succeed, entrepreneurs need a good idea, timing, money, luck. But more than anything, they need grit. Don’t confuse grit with sheer persistence; it’s not about charging up the same hill, again and again. The sort of grit you need to scale a business is less reliant on brute force. It’s actually one part determination and one part ingenuity — the ability to generate an endless supply of Plans B. And Nancy Lublin has a boundless supply of grit, which fueled her success scaling three...
6. Innovation is managed chaos, w/Eric Schmidt of Google/Alphabet
June 07, 2017 04:00 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBGoogle has succeeded by innovating again and again. Their secret? They don’t tell their employees how to innovate; they manage the chaos. Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google since 2001 and now chair of parent company Alphabet, shares the controversial management techniques he created to lead an environment of free-flowing ideas — and the disciplined decision-making that helps to make a breakthrough idea into a profitable product. He reveals the secret to Google’s former “20% time” polic...
Google/Alphabet's Eric Schmidt in Innovation = Managed Chaos
June 07, 2017 04:00 - 30 minutes - 27.5 MBGoogle has succeeded by innovating again and again. Not just search, but Gmail and Google Docs and even self-driving cars. Their secret? They don’t tell their employees how to innovate; they manage the chaos. Eric Schmidt—CEO of Google since 2001 and now Chairman of parent company Alphabet—shares the controversial management techniques he created to cultivate an environment of free-flowing ideas plus disciplined decision making that lead to breakthrough ideas. He reveals the hidden s...
BONUS: Uncut Interview w/ Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg
June 01, 2017 21:18 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBHost Reid Hoffman met Sheryl in a conference room at One Facebook Way to discuss a vexing subject: How does she lead an organization that doubles or triples in size each year? She also reveals previously unaired insights from her new book, Option B, and how her first book, Lean In, morphed into a grassroots movement.
5. Lead, lead again, w/Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg
May 31, 2017 04:00 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBIn just 6 years, Facebook grew to 2 billion users and 14,000 employees. How? Well, first, they hired COO Sheryl Sandberg. And she knew that to lead a fast-changing organization, you have to be as skilled at breaking plans as you are at making them. Great scale leaders know how to pivot, because every day there are new competitors, new threats, new opportunities. Sandberg shares the practical, tactical on-the-ground leadership lessons she learned while scaling at Google and Facebook....
Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg in Lead, Lead Again
May 31, 2017 04:00 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBIn just 6 years, Facebook grew to 2 billion users and 14,000 employees. How? Well first, they hired COO Sheryl Sandberg. And she knew that to lead a fast-changing organization, you have to be as skilled at breaking plans as you are at making them. Great scale leaders know how to pivot. Every day, there are new competitors, new threats, new opportunities. There’s no simple, straightforward set of marching orders. It’s more like a dogfight. You and your team will be flying upside down ...
BONUS: Uncut interview w/ Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
May 25, 2017 21:14 - 1 hour - 59.5 MBThis is the extended, uncut version of Reid Hoffman's rare, hour-long interview with Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg from Ep. 4 “Imperfect is Perfect". Our recommendation: Listen to the episode first. Then enjoy the full interview, with its previously unheard material — including our Masters of Scale “Lightning Round.”
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg in Imperfect is Perfect
May 24, 2017 07:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBIf you’re Steve Jobs, you can wait for your product to be perfect. But there are almost no Steve Jobs’ in the world. For the rest of us, If you’re not embarrassed by your first product release, you’ve released it too late. Imperfect is perfect. Why? Because your assumptions about what people want are never exactly right. Most entrepreneurs create great products through a tight feedback loop with real customers using a real product. So don’t fear imperfections; they won’t make or bre...
4. Imperfect is perfect, w/Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg
May 24, 2017 07:00 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBIf you’re Steve Jobs, you can wait for your product to be perfect. For the rest of us, If you’re not embarrassed by your first product release, you’ve released it too late. Imperfect is perfect. Why? Because your assumptions about what people want are never exactly right. Most entrepreneurs create great products through a tight feedback loop with real customers using a real product. So don’t fear imperfections; they won’t make or break your company. What will make or break you is sp...
3. Learn from every "no," w/Walker & Company's Tristan Walker
May 17, 2017 07:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBThe best business ideas often seem laughable at first glance. So if you’re hearing a chorus of “No’s” — it may actually be a good sign! Google, Facebook, LInkedIn, Airbnb — they all sounded crazy before they scaled spectacularly. So don’t be discouraged by rejection. Instead, learn to hear the nuance in the different kinds of “no.” That’s what Tristan Walker did. After stints at two successful startups, he launched out on his own with Walker & Company, makers of the Bevel razor — an...
Beauty of A Bad Idea w/ Walker & Company's Tristan Walker
May 17, 2017 07:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBThe best business ideas often seem laughable at first glance. So if you’re hearing a chorus of “No’s” it may actually be a good sign… Google, Facebook, LInkedIn, Airbnb — they all sounded crazy before they scaled spectacularly. So don’t be discouraged by rejection. Instead, learn to hear the nuance between the different kinds of “no.” That’s what Tristan Walker did. After stints at two successful startups, he launched out on his own with Walker & Company, makers of the Bevel razor — ...
The Money Episode w/ Minted's Mariam Naficy
May 10, 2017 07:00 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MBThink you've raised enough money for your startup? Think again. You have to run through a minefield of unexpected expenses as an entrepreneur. And you never know where the big opportunity will come from. So always, always raise more money than you think you need. Mariam Naficy shares her white-knuckle experiences founding startups that survived two financial crashes — online cosmetic company Eve.com in the 90s, and founder and designer boutique Minted.com today.
2. Raise more money than you need, w/Minted's Mariam Naficy
May 10, 2017 07:00 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBThink you've raised enough money for your startup? Think again. You have to run through a minefield of unexpected expenses as an entrepreneur. And you never know where the big opportunity will come from — or if you'll need to make an unexpected, expensive pivot to stay afloat. So always, always raise more money than you think you need. Mariam Naficy shares her white-knuckle experiences founding startups that survived two financial crashes — the online cosmetic company Eve.com in the...
BONUS: Uncut Interview w/ Airbnb's Brian Chesky
May 04, 2017 22:45 - 1 hour - 73.7 MBHost Reid Hoffman interviews Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. In this extended interview, Chesky explains how a willingness to work with his hands laid the foundation for Airbnb’s growth. He also shares previously unaired stories about pitches that went terribly awry and a guest appearance on a reality television series.
Airbnb's Brian Chesky in Handcrafted
May 03, 2017 07:00 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBIf you want your company to truly scale, you first have to do things that don't scale. Handcraft the core experience. Get your hands dirty. Serve your customers one-by-one. And don't stop until you know exactly what they want. That's what Brian Chesky did. As CEO of Airbnb, Brian’s early work was more akin to a traveling salesman. He takes us back to his lean years – when he went door-to-door, meeting Airbnb hosts in person – and shares the imaginative route to crafting what he call...
1. Airbnb's Brian Chesky in Handcrafted
May 03, 2017 07:00 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBIf you want your company to truly scale, you first have to do things that don't scale. Handcraft the core experience. Get your hands dirty. Serve your customers one-by-one. And don't stop until you know exactly what they want. That's what Brian Chesky did. As CEO of Airbnb, Brian’s early work was more akin to a traveling salesman. He takes us back to his lean years – when he went door-to-door, meeting Airbnb hosts in person – and shares the imaginative route to crafting what he call...
Coming Soon: Masters of Scale
April 18, 2017 19:21 - 2 minutes - 1.97 MBComing May 3rd, Reid Hoffman, legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor, explains how famous founders take their companies from zero to a gazillion. In this trailer for Season One, a taste of this straight-from-Silicon Valley podcast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.